Why Letting Go Is Harder Than It Sounds

I read a devotional this morning that made me stop and think. Not because it said something new, but because it named something I already knew and didn’t really want to admit.

Why We Hold On to What Feels Safe

You’ve probably heard the saying before, the one about monkeys not letting go of one branch until they have a firm grip on another. Monkeys swing from tree to tree, always making sure they’re secure before releasing what they’re holding. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much we humans do the exact same thing.

We don’t let go of what feels safe until we’re sure something else will catch us.

That’s being human.

If I’m honest, I live this way more often than I’d like to admit. I hold on tightly to the things I can see, measure, manage, and control. Even when I know God is asking me to loosen my grip, I hesitate. Because letting go feels like falling.

The devotional put it so plainly that it almost hurt.

God said He can’t take control of what we refuse to let go of.

When Faith Feels Like Letting Go Without a Net

Psalm 55:22 reminds us:
“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Not to manage them alongside you. Not take the ones you’re done worrying about. Cast them. Release them.

I think we often imagine surrender as something dramatic or heroic. A big moment. A bold prayer. But most of the time, surrender looks like opening clenched fingers one at a time. It feels risky. It feels uncomfortable. It feels like stepping into thin air.

What the Bible Says About Trust and Control

We hold on to worry because at least it feels productive.
We hold on to control because uncertainty feels unsafe.
We hold on to old hurts because letting go feels like saying they didn’t matter.
We hold on to plans because trusting God feels like free-falling.

And yet Scripture reminds us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Leaning not on our own understanding is hard when our understanding is the very thing we’re gripping for stability.

God Can’t Carry What We Refuse to Release

God won’t pry our fingers open. He doesn’t force our hand. He waits. Lovingly. Patiently. But He also tells the truth. As long as we insist on holding everything ourselves, He won’t override us.

That isn’t rejection. That’s respect.

What struck me most in the devotional was the reminder that God already holds every tomorrow. Every unknown. Every outcome I’m trying so hard to manage today.

Jesus said it plainly when He told us, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34).

Learning to Trust God One Open Hand at a Time

God isn’t asking us to let go so we’ll fall. He’s asking us to let go so He can carry what we were never meant to carry in the first place.

Letting go doesn’t mean pretending things don’t matter. It means trusting that God cares even more than we do.

Maybe the thing you’re holding onto right now feels like the only solid branch you have. And maybe God isn’t asking you to leap wildly into the unknown. Maybe He’s just asking you to loosen your grip enough to discover that He’s been holding you all along.

To God Goes The Glory!

Have A Blessed Day!

Let’s End With a Prayer

Lord,
You know how hard it is for me to let go.
I hold on to what feels safe, even when You’re asking me to trust You.

Help me open my hands and release what I was never meant to carry.
Teach me to trust You with what comes next, even when I can’t see it yet.

Remind me that You are already in my tomorrow, and that I am safe in Your hands.

Amen.