The Lie of Control: Why We Keep Trying to Be God
When Everything Breaks - Part 2
If Part 1 is the moment life collapses, Part 2 is what happens inside you next.
The panic.
The racing mind.
The scramble to fix, manage, and regain control.
You replay conversations.
You run scenarios.
You try to hold the pieces still long enough to feel safe again.
But the more you tighten your grip, the more everything slips through your fingers.
And there’s a reason for that.
The Illusion That Runs Our Lives
Control is one of the oldest lies in the human story.
We grow up believing we can manage outcomes if we just:
try hard enough
pray right
think ahead
stay disciplined
avoid mistakes
do everything perfectly
But life is far too complex for that. Too fragile. Too unpredictable.
Still, we cling to the illusion because it gives us the feeling of certainty.
Not actual certainty, but the feeling of it.
And when that illusion breaks, it feels like we are breaking with it.
The Pressure of Playing God
When things fall apart, something instinctive rises up in us:
I have to fix this.
If I don’t fix it, no one will.
If this goes wrong, it’s on me.
That pressure is crushing because it is a role we were never created to fill.
We carry the emotional weight of being our own savior.
We feel responsible for outcomes that were never ours to control.
We try to anticipate every possible future as if we could shape them by force.
No wonder we’re exhausted.
No wonder anxiety is everywhere.
No wonder our minds never rest.
Trying to be God will always break you.
Receiving grace is what frees you.
Grace Does Not Ask You to Let Go. It Shows You You Were Never Holding It.
Most advice tells you to just “release control.”
But releasing control only works if you were the one holding it in the first place.
And you weren’t.
Grace doesn’t say, “Let go.”
Grace says, “You were never carrying this to begin with.”
The job you lost was never the source of your security.
The relationship you leaned on was never the foundation of your worth.
The outcome you feared was never in your hands.
When everything breaks, grace doesn’t shame you for trying to control it.
It gently reveals the truth:
You are not responsible for being your own anchor.
You are held by something stronger.
The Anxiety You Feel Is Not a Character Flaw
Anxiety is not a sign that your faith is weak.
It is the nervous system’s reaction to the weight of control.
When you try to:
predict the future
prevent disaster
protect everyone you love
guarantee outcomes
...your mind goes into overdrive because it is carrying a load it was never designed to hold.
Grace is not the demand to stop being anxious.
Grace is the gentle whisper underneath the anxiety:
You are not alone. You are not in charge. You are not failing.
You are human.
And you are held.
What Freedom Actually Feels Like
Freedom is not the absence of problems.
Freedom is the absence of the belief that you must solve them alone.
Freedom is not a perfect plan for tomorrow.
Freedom is knowing tomorrow is not your job to control.
Freedom is not being strong enough.
Freedom is resting in the One who already is.
And when that truth sinks deep enough, something shifts:
The panic loosens.
The fear softens.
The pressure fades.
You stop trying to be God.
You start remembering you are loved.
