Let Go Before It Breaks You: A Modern Warning from King Saul

When I read the story of King Saul, I can’t help but feel a deep tug in my spirit. Here was a man chosen by God, anointed to lead, blessed with position, power, and purpose. Yet, his downfall came not because he lacked opportunity, but because he chose pride over obedience, and power over surrender. The Bible says that when Saul rejected God’s ways, a tormenting spirit came upon him.

That moment isn’t just ancient history, it’s a mirror for many of us today. We may not be kings sitting on a throne, but we often crown ourselves ruler over our own lives. Like Saul, we hold tight to control because we’re afraid to lose what we’ve built. We tell ourselves, “If I don’t hold it together, everything will fall apart.” And so, we grip harder, over our careers, our relationships, our plans, until the weight crushes us.

The result? We’re tormented, too. Not by an enemy we can see, but by stress that keeps us up at night, by anxiety that makes our chest tighten, by panic that steals our breath. We wonder why peace feels so far away, when deep down, the truth is this, we’ve been trying to lead a life that was never ours to lead in the first place.

Pride whispers, “You can figure it out.” Fear says, “You can’t let go.” But God calls us to do the very thing our flesh resists, trust Him more than ourselves. The tragedy of Saul’s story is that it didn’t have to end the way it did. If he had humbled himself, repented, and put God back in His rightful place, restoration was possible.

And the same is true for us. If we’re honest, some of the torment we feel is self-inflicted. We’ve put ourselves in God’s seat, then wondered why we feel so overwhelmed. But peace is waiting on the other side of surrender. The moment we loosen our grip and say, “Lord, I can’t carry this, and I don’t want to anymore. Take it.”, that’s when the healing begins.

We don’t have to live like Saul. We can choose a different ending. We can trade pride for humility, fear for faith, and control for trust. And in doing so, we can experience the kind of peace no amount of power or self-reliance will ever give.

So I’ll leave you with this. What are you holding on to that’s causing you stress, anxiety, and sleepless nights? What would disappear the moment you let it go and place it in God’s hands?