When it comes to the control issue, Jesus is relentless. Shouldering one's cross is more about submitting to the authority that has decreed the crucifixion than it is about dying. But Jesus makes clear, in what he tells His disciples and the crowds here, that efforts to dominate our own destinies must die if God's true life is to take hold.

Mark 8:34-38

Confess any fear of relinquishing control. Ask to be enabled to trust His control in your life. Acknowledge readiness to take responsibility for what He has given you to do for His glory and by His power.

Mark 8:34-38

(34) Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. "If any of you wants to be my follower," he told them, "you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. (35) If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. (36) And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? (37) Is anything worth more than your soul? (38) If a person is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels."