Control rarely looks like a struggle — it looks like competence. What appears as discipline to the world — a carefully managed body, a tightly run schedule, a life with no loose ends — can quietly become a substitute for trusting in God. And it only deepens with every bit of praise from people I love. This was my personal experience with control. The affirmation and positive feedback from others fed the idol I had created.

Control often feels safer than surrender. Though I know my God is good, the enemy convinces me that self-reliance is better…