Psalm 143:10 — Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Growing up, there was one thing I was especially good at forcing.
Relationships.
From the time I was thirteen years old until I married my husband, I can probably count on one hand the months I wasn’t dating someone.
And looking back, I can tell you something.
That wasn’t because I had relationships all figured out.
Quite the opposite.
I was terrified of being alone.
And when you’re afraid of losing someone, you can start doing just about anything to keep them.
I tried to control situations.
I held on to relationships that weren’t healthy.
I let fear make decisions that should’ve been made with wisdom.
And I spent so much time worrying about whether someone would stay that I rarely stopped to ask whether the relationship was actually good for me.
My mind was constantly running through the same questions.
What if he leaves?
What if he finds someone better?
What if I end up alone?
Friend, let me tell you.
That is exhausting with a capital E.
Because when you’re constantly trying to hold everything together, you never really get to rest.
Looking back now, I can see something I couldn’t see then.
I was so busy trying to make my plans work that I wasn’t asking God what His plans might be.
I wanted control.
I wanted certainty.
I wanted everything to turn out exactly the way I’d imagined.
And that reminds me of two very different kings in the Bible.
Saul and David.
Saul was Israel’s first king. But when he repeatedly chose his own way over God’s instructions, the Lord rejected him as king.
And instead of humbly accepting God’s direction, Saul became consumed with protecting his position.
He even pursued David, the man God had chosen to succeed him.
David, on the other hand, spent years waiting for the kingdom God had promised him.
He had opportunities to take matters into his own hands, but he refused to kill Saul to claim the throne.
Now, David wasn’t perfect.
He made plenty of mistakes along the way.
But listen to the prayer he prayed in Psalm 143.
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.”
I love that.
Teach me to do Your will.
Not God, bless whatever I’ve already decided to do.
Not Lord, make this work because I want it so badly.
But teach me what You want, and help me walk in it.
What a difference that makes.
And I wonder how many of us are exhausting ourselves trying to hold on to something God is asking us to surrender.
Maybe for you, it’s a relationship.
Maybe it’s a job you’ve been chasing.
An opportunity you’re afraid someone else will get.
A plan for your family.
Or a future you’ve pictured so clearly that you can’t imagine anything different.
And there’s nothing wrong with having hopes and dreams.
But there is a difference between working faithfully toward something and trying to control every detail because we’re afraid of what might happen if we don’t.
I know that difference because I’ve lived it.
For years, I thought holding on tighter would make me feel secure.
But it only made me more afraid.
Because the tighter I tried to hold everything, the more terrified I became of losing it.
And here’s what I’m learning.
Trusting God doesn’t mean sitting back and doing nothing.
It means seeking His wisdom, taking the steps He’s given us to take, and being willing to surrender the outcome.
It means recognizing that a closed door isn’t always a failure.
And an open door isn’t automatically an invitation from God.
Sometimes we have to slow down long enough to ask Him which direction He wants us to go.
That’s why David’s prayer is becoming one I want to pray more often.
Lord, teach me to do Your will.
Not just when it’s easy.
Not just when His plans look like mine.
But even when I don’t understand where He’s leading.
Friend, maybe there’s something you’ve been holding so tightly that your hands are tired.
Maybe you’ve been fighting to make something happen because you’re terrified of what it would mean if it didn’t.
Can I encourage you today?
Open your hands.
Bring that relationship, that dream, that opportunity, or that uncertainty before God.
Ask Him to show you what faithfulness looks like right now.
And trust Him enough to follow, even when the path looks different from the one you planned.
Because I’ve discovered something after all those years of trying to control my own story.
Peace doesn’t come from finally getting everything to go my way. It comes from learning to trust the One who knows the way.
I don’t have to force every door.
I don’t have to control every outcome.
And I don’t have to live with clenched fists anymore.
I can give God my plans.
I can give Him my fears.
And I can trust Him with what happens next.
Because His hands are safer than mine.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
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- Is there something in your life right now that you’re trying desperately to control because you’re afraid of losing it?
- Have you ever stayed in a situation or relationship longer than you should have because the uncertainty of letting go felt frightening?
- When you pray about your future, do you spend more time asking God to bless your plans or asking Him to show you His will?
- What can you learn from David’s willingness to wait rather than force the fulfillment of God’s promise?
- What would it look like to pursue your responsibilities faithfully while surrendering the outcome to God?
QUESTION TO CARRY WITH YOU TODAY
What am I holding so tightly that I need to open my hands and trust God with it?
