Today’s Verse
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:29-30 (WEB)
Stop Fighting, Start Following
Last week in this devotional, I mentioned my three-year-old (and I) are learning patience. The other thing he struggles with is control. He’s in a phase where he wants to control everything. What he wears, what he eats, and which route we take to the park. And when I say no or redirect him toward what’s actually safe or necessary, he fights. Hard. He doesn’t trust that I see what he doesn’t, that those shoes won’t work in the rain, that we can’t go that way because the road is closed, that I’m steering him toward what’s better even when he can’t see it yet.
I watch him exhaust himself fighting my guidance, resisting my direction, convinced his way is better. And then realize: I do the exact same thing with God.
I want to trust God’s direction, but when I can’t see where He’s leading, doubt creeps in. Instead of fully surrendering, I hold back, keep one hand on the wheel, and try to maintain some control over the outcome. It’s not that I’m actively fighting Him, I’m just not fully trusting Him. And that hesitation, that need to stay in control, creates more worry and anxiety than if I’d just let go and followed. Control feels safer when I can’t see the destination. When I don’t know what’s ahead, managing what I can feels more secure than surrendering what I can’t.
Jesus used the image of a yoke in Matthew 11:29-30. He said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me… For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.” A yoke connects two animals so they pull together. When one fights against the yoke, pulling in a different direction, the work becomes exhausting and painful. But when both move together, the load becomes manageable.
I’m not always aligned with the yoke. God’s leading me in one direction, and I’m hesitating, holding back, trying to steer slightly my own way because I can’t see the destination, or it doesn’t match what I had in mind. And I wonder why I’m so anxious, so worried, so tired from the tension.
What if I stopped resisting, like my three year old, and started trusting God fully?
Today’s Prayer
Lord, help me to release control to You, trusting Your guidance instead of fighting it, surrendering to where You’re leading instead of resisting what I cannot see.
I exhaust myself trying to control what should be directed by You, fighting against Your leading because I can’t see where it’s taking me, resisting instead of trusting.
Teach me that releasing control isn’t reckless or irresponsible but recognizing that You see what I don’t, that fighting Your direction only keeps me grounded when I could soar.
Control feels necessary when I don’t trust, when I think safety comes from my management, when I believe resisting Your lead protects me more than following it.
Help me identify where I’m still fighting instead of following, where I’m resisting Your direction because it doesn’t match my plan, where I’m refusing to trust what I cannot see.
Remind me that freedom comes from surrendering to Your guidance, that trusting where You’re leading brings peace my controlling never could, that Your direction is always better than my resistance.
Give me courage to stop fighting and start following, to release my need to steer and trust You to guide, to surrender control and discover the freedom that comes from it.
Let me release control to You today, trusting Your guidance instead of fighting it, following where You lead instead of resisting, discovering freedom in surrender.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.