There comes a point where you realize you can’t keep holding everything together. You’ve tried, pushed, and carried more than you should—and now you’re just tired. It feels like failure, but maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s the moment you stop trying to do it all on your own… and finally let go.
You: I can’t do this anymore.
God: Good. Now let me do it.
You: What do you mean “good”?
The end of carrying what was never yours to carry. That’s not failure.
– Jacqueline Whitney
God: I mean you’ve finally reached the end of yourself. The end of trying to control it. The end of trying to fix it. The end of carrying what was never yours to carry. That’s not failure. That’s surrender. And surrender is where I get to move.
You: I just feel like I’ve failed.
God: You haven’t failed. You’ve been trying to do my job. You’ve been carrying weight I never asked you to carry. You’ve been forcing outcomes I was already working out. You exhausted yourself trying to be in control of things only I can handle.
You: So I just… stop?
God: You stop trying to figure it out on your own. You stop white-knuckling your way through. You stop pretending you have the strength to keep going. You let go. You let me. Because the moment you stop trying to do it all yourself is the moment I can finally show you what I can do.
You: And what happens now?
God: Now you rest. And you watch what I do when you finally get out of my way.
Jacqueline Whitney is the author Held: A 50 Day Devotional For Parents and All That You Deserve.
