Go with the Flow: Why Letting Go is the Key to Finding Peace & Clarity

Are you holding on too tightly to control, plans, or expectations? What if God is asking you to go with the flow instead?

In this powerful and faith-filled episode of Your Life, Your Story – Rise Up, Jill O’Boyle speaks directly to the woman who does it all—and shares her Word of the Year for 2026: FLOW. It’s an invitation to release control, surrender your agenda, and trust God’s timing.

Through scripture, personal stories, and a vivid zip-line analogy, Jill unpacks how pride, fear, and the need to hold everything together can quietly rob us of peace. If you’re navigating burnout, uncertainty, or a season where God is calling you into something new, this message will meet you right where you are.

Join us at The 8:28 Retreat:  February 27-28, 2026

Subscribe to the Newsletter: Start creating a life you love.
Sign up for Jill’s weekly email and get practical tips, inspiration, and intentional steps delivered straight to your inbox—helping you move closer to the life you were made for! 

Discover Your Purpose at The 8:28 Retreat.

Learn more about Jill O'Boyle
Grab a copy of Jill's Co-Author Best Seller Book- Intuitive Goddess by Jill O'Boyle

LET'S CONNECT
 Here To Help You, Let's Talk - Free 30 Minute Consultation Call

LET'S GET SOCIAL
https://linktr.ee/JillOBoyle
LinkedIn Profile

Transcript

Jill O'Boyle (00:02.51)
Well, hello friends and welcome back to another episode of Your Life, Your Story. Rise up. I am your host, Jill O'Boyle, and it is so good to be back with you all. It is 2026. 2026 and we are already a month in. Like, how, right? Already, just like that. And you know, if I'm honest with you, I had full intentions to deliver a podcast episode to you

promptly at the start of the new year. I was on fire for 2026 and just, you all that excitement that just, you know, happens with a new year, a fresh start, goals, you name it, right? But yeah, here I am coming to you at not the first of the year, at the end of January, because well, it's called life, you guys. It's life, right?

And you know, that's okay. It's okay because it perfectly lands with my word of the year that God brought to me. And that word is flow. Yep, my word of the year, 2026, flow. And it's so perfect. And so although I wanted to be, you know, on it,

I was gonna have my agenda ready to go. I was gonna have two podcasts recorded by now delivered to you. God kind of paused me and reminded me that, know, Jill, it's really not about your agenda. Ooh, okay. It's not about my agenda. And it's time really to just flow into the places that he's calling me to, flow into his timing.

flow in His word, flow into the year with more time with Him. Flow into just surrendering my agenda, surrendering my plans, and surrendering it all to His will and His plans that He has for me. And you know, let me just tell you, when I decided, okay Lord, I'm gonna just flow with you,

Jill O'Boyle (02:23.947)
and I decided to just let his plans and his flow take over my January. I am here to tell you that I had more peace, I had more vision, I had more clarity than I ever did at the end of 2025, back in December, right? And so January was really a great month. We started our 21 days of prayer at my church. I go to Heartland Church and shout out to them. They're amazing, Pastor Darren.

But every day at 6 a.m., we have been seeking the Lord first in these 21 days, praying with my husband before the routine, before the calendar, before everyone else's attention demands our attention, right? And what's really been special about that is A, that time with my husband, that time with the Lord, but can I talk about Wednesday mornings in January?

On Wednesday mornings, we decided as a family that we were gonna wake up and pray together. And on this particular day, we don't just actually watch the 21 Days of Prayer online in the country of our house, but we're actually gonna go live to our church in person at six in the morning, you guys, six in the morning, praying together as a family every Wednesday in January. And so yes, that meant getting our kids up, getting in our car.

all dressed, all ready for the day, all ready for school, all ready at 5.30 a.m. so that we could go to church and we could pray together for an hour. And can I tell you that my children gladly woke up to do this? There was no fuss, there was no complaining. They just got up and they were ready to serve the Lord. I mean, praise God, right? Like that's incredible and I just love that this is something that my

church just offers. And what I also love is that our youth in our church is so fired up for God that they were like last year, they were like, hey, we don't want to just end this in January. We want to like have an opportunity to do this like during the week. And so they said yes to every Wednesday morning all year long, Wednesday prayer at six a.m. And so we as a family had made a commitment back in actually November to start doing Wednesday prayer in church. And it'll be a thing that we'll continue to do.

Jill O'Boyle (04:49.517)
all this year and I just, love it because honestly I know what it does for me and I believe on those days when my kids and my husband go with us and we pray together as a family, there's just something that the Lord just blesses a family when they do that and I just believe that my kids hearts when they do that are just being moved by the Spirit. Like the first part of their day is spent in prayer, like I know that they're just gonna enter school.

a little bit different on those days. Like the conversations with their friends will be different, their patience will be stronger, their focus will be stronger, and honestly just that flow of the spirit is going to just flow and follow them and protect them throughout that entire day at school, at home, in their sports. And I believe it's leading to opportunities in places that only the spirit can lead them. And so I just praise God for that.

And so, you know, January has just been just an incredible month because honestly, it's just it's just the truth, right? Like when we decide to let God be first in our life, when we let him lead the way and we flow with where he wants to take us, like our life becomes like so much less about what what I can do, right? What I can do. And honestly, it just transitions our heart to say

Where do you want me to go, Lord? It's a change in posture of everything being about us to say, okay, Lord, where do you want me to go? Where do you want me to serve? Like his ways, his thoughts, his plans, like they're always higher. I mean, even at times, right? Because believe me, there's times where it's just like, I can't see it yet. Like I can't just really fully see it. But I know that I can lean and I can trust and know that his ways are always higher.

And so flow. Flow. Don't control your life. Just flow with where God is calling you. And I love that, you know, everything that he speaks can be backed up in scripture and it can also be found specifically talking about this topic of just flowing with God and letting him be the ruler of our life can be found in Matthew 16 25. And it says, if you try to hang on to your life, you're going to lose it.

Jill O'Boyle (07:19.159)
But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

So when I read this verse, I just get this vision, right, of just like what I did right there. Like my hands just clenched so tight. Like my shoulders like tensed up, like trying so hard to just hold on to everything, to just not let anything drop. Like so fearful, if I let go of the control, like everything's gonna crash, everything's gonna come down.

everything's gonna fall apart. I think it's a visual that I think so many of us can relate to, especially as high achieving individuals, where control has been the only way we've gotten through life. And so maybe you've been like me, or maybe you have this belief that you've fallen into, like this belief that I think the world will try to tell us is that it's just all up to you.

Like it's up to me, I have to do it. I must carry this weight, I can't let anything drop. I have to walk this alone. I have to do it all myself. I have to prove my worth. I must show everyone that I can do this.

What is that? It's a sense of pride, right? It's an ego that we carry. It's maybe a mindset or a vision that many of us have adapted to around what success looks like. Like I know, I know that I am not the only one that has dealt with this. Like I have personally been so guilty of that. Like honestly, pride, pride is a sneaky one.

Jill O'Boyle (09:04.787)
It really is. It will sneak up on you in ways that you didn't even realize that you had pride. I mean, it's the one that I think many of us deal with every day. It gets us in trouble because it's definitely not the heart of Jesus.

Jill O'Boyle (09:23.351)
Jesus has no pride, right? He's all humility, kindness, compassion. And so if we read that verse back, if I go back to that verse, we can see that Jesus is calling us to do really quite the opposite, right? He says, if we clench, right? So if we go back to pride, if we go back to arrogance, if we go back to control,

He's saying if you rule your life in that way, if you go through life and you clench your fist, if you hold on to everything in your life, if we decide that we're gonna be the master of our life and try to control every circumstance, every outcome, every environment, we're not gonna gain anything, but honestly, we're gonna lose it all.

But he says, if we open our hands, if we just open our hands a little bit and we unleash this grip in our fist and we turn those hands over in a posture of surrender and letting it go to our Father, we're not only gonna just save our life, but we're gonna find freedom, we're gonna find abundance, we're gonna find

blessings. Right? That scripture goes on to say that for what benefit do we gain if we gain the whole world? Right? The money, the possessions, the friends, the material things, the likes. What do we gain if we gain the whole world, but we lose our own soul throughout it all?

Jill O'Boyle (11:17.514)
So when I think about that verse, really, honestly, I just, I see that vision of me. I see that vision of me just clenching my fist so tightly. My shoulders tensed up, my body consumed with just fear. I have this vision of a women's retreat that I attended two years ago. And we were out in nature. It was the most beautiful setting. And there was a zip line.

that spanned across the woods. And my first reaction was like, my gosh, I'm doing that. I've always wanted to do that. I can't wait to do that. I'm going to do that before I leave this retreat. But of course, I'm harnessed up. I got my helmet on. I'm standing on the ledge. And as I look down, I go into full body panic, you guys.

I looked down and then I looked up.

I looked around and I'm like, are these chains really going to hold me? Like, was this really a good idea, Jill? Like, I'm not so sure. I am not sure. I'm just supposed to just jump and just hope that these straps are gonna protect me. Like, I'm gonna be flying through mid-sky here.

And so I stood there for a minute and I was like, well, I got two options. I can either go for it. It's what I've always wanted to do. I just said it when I was down on the ground, feet planted. said, I've always wanted to do that. I'm gonna do it. So I can go for it or I can just look like a coward and I can take all this crap off me, all this stuff that this lady worked so hard to put on me and I can walk down and I can walk of shame down these steps.

Jill O'Boyle (13:13.611)
And so I remember turning back to the guy who was doing like the countdown and telling us, you know, when to go. And I just looked back at him and I just saw the look in his eyes of just, trust me, you're going to be fine. You're going to be fine. And so I remember just standing there, I just said a quick prayer, prayer like, Lord, Jesus, help me. I'm going for it. And instead of clenching to that chain, I let go and I jumped. And can I tell you,

my gosh. The sights, the freedom, the joy in my heart, that adventurous soul was coming out, like that laughter. You guys, the flow, the flow of just moving through the wind and the trees like so freely, like weightless.

And then that feeling afterwards like, wow, my gosh, that was so fun. I'm so glad I did that. I'm so glad that I went for it. Like it was incredible. Just incredible. And so as I think about that moment,

I can't help but think that God is asking us to do the same. He really is. He's asking us to do the same, to just take that one obedient jump, and not even a jump, just take one obedient step to be in the flow of where He is leading and calling you. And I, believe me, believe me, it may not make sense. It may be incredibly terrifying.

But will you just trust the one who knows you, who has a purpose and a plan for you, who wants to take you places far beyond where you can see if you stayed planted in your own self-control and pride? Right? If I would have stayed planted on the ground, I couldn't have seen the sights I saw from up

Jill O'Boyle (15:27.511)
couldn't have felt the freedom and experience.

So, I'm asking you, is it time to begin to go with the flow? Go with the flow of where God is speaking, with the flow of where God is guiding you, the flow of where God is positioning you for such a time as this.

even when it feels terrifying, even when you think you're not qualified, even when you don't have the answers.

Would you just flow?

You know, I love that God gave me this word. Like, it's so God and it's so me. Like, I didn't even have to think of this word or ponder it. He just brought me this word mid-December. I knew it was for me and I laughed because wouldn't it be like God to give me a word that just makes me laugh in all the ways. All the ways. One, because listen, you guys.

Jill O'Boyle (16:42.849)
There's this time of month that we as women have, you know? You know what I'm talking about? Uh-huh. All right, so a long, long time ago, I decided to give that time of the month a little name. I decided to give her a name, I did. Yep, and you guessed it, that name is Flo. Like, we have so many funny stories in this household, like with my husband and I, about Flo.

You know, she comes on like clockwork. And so I'm always like, you know, yeah, it's flows in town, flows in town this week, babe. So yeah, that's that's not happening. This is not going to happen. Or sorry, sorry, I really just don't mean to be acting like this. But, you know, flow is just flows, just having a day. She is just having a day today.

So, know, God has a great sense of humor and it's usually for me the way that we communicate because he knows, like he knows us, right? And he knows that Jill delights in a good laugh. Jill loves a good comedy. Who's my Tommy Boy movie buffs out there? if you do not, if you have not seen Tommy Boy, like what, what are you doing? Like funniest movie ever. So, you know, that, that word was just.

Definitely like my word. Like not only with my girl Flo, but honestly, it's just my word and it's my word because it's so contradictory, however you say that word, to like what my mind thinks sometimes. Like honestly, like my motto, a lot of times things that I've said you might've heard me say is like, don't go with the flow.

Like don't go through life, just going through the motions. Don't be willy-nilly with your life. And what I was saying there is like, be intentional with your days. Like be intentional with your life. Like you have one life to live, so be sure to be intentional about it. And so meaning like seek God first, let his word guide your steps, right? And so,

Jill O'Boyle (18:57.781)
Although I was saying really, I guess, the same thing, I just love how God just used that word to just make it stupid simple. Like, just, just flow with me. Just flow with me, Jill. I just love it. I love it. And so he gave me this vision in one of my prayer times mid-December, right? This is when this whole word,

came about and I was like, that is my work for 2026. That's awesome, Lord. I love how you speak to me. And he gave me this, this vision. All right. And I love it. Cause I was on a big floaty. was on this floaty. I was in this inner tube. I was just flowing down a river. I was having so much fun. It was warm. I was surrounded by like nature, sunlight, blue skies. Like, can you picture it? You're like floating down this river on a floaty.

just so free. It's warm, hallelujah, cause it's flipping freezing right now here. just take me back to that floaty everyday, Lord. So I am just floating down that river and I just had this sense of like overwhelming peace over me. Like free spirited, like just flowing to the sound of the music and.

just flowing wherever the ripples of that river took me, right? My arms were just freely open, my legs out. know, my fingers were just kind of guiding in the water, just moving freely in the flow of where God was leading me. And so as I was like floating down this river, then as I was flowing, I saw some larger like ripples up ahead.

and some rough terrain up ahead with some rocks. And I remember in that vision of just seeing those ripples and it was as if God was saying to me like, Jill, like my spirit will flow you through rivers of just calm and still waters. And my spirit will also flow you through some storms and some ripples.

Jill O'Boyle (21:16.469)
And Jill, you're gonna have to have a choice. You can either stay in the tube or you can pull aside and grab hold of that rock and you can get out of this water. Like it's your choice, Jill. But I am calling you to flow with me.

My spirit will guide you through the storms.

So just flow with me. Don't get out. Stay in the waves.

as they are just temporary ripples to where I'm calling you.

And this flow will move again if you don't try to just hold on to the rocks.

Jill O'Boyle (22:12.063)
incredible, incredible vision because it goes right back to that verse, right back to his verse in Matthew 16 25. If you cling to your life and circumstances, you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for me, if you flow with me, you will save your life.

Jill O'Boyle (22:43.702)
So.

I ask you this question.

What have you been clinging to that God is asking you to release in 2026?

What river or stream is God wanting to take you down, but you keep getting off or pulling back to just that comfort? Like where is God flowing in your life and you're just having trouble believing that his flow will provide?

Is it financial security?

Jill O'Boyle (23:24.959)
Is it an old relationship that just keeps pulling you back to comfort? Is it fear of what others may think or say? Is it an unwillingness to believe that honestly, God truly has a plan and a purpose for your life? You're like, yeah, I see that for all those other people, but not me. Not what I've been through. Not my mess. He can't surely use me. He can't be calling me to flow with him.

Yes, he is. What are you clinging to that is no longer serving you? Where is God asking you to flow with him in 2026?

Jill O'Boyle (24:10.187)
I really encourage you to take some intentional time today. I'm so grateful that God just paused me in January. And so I'm asking you to do the same. I encourage you to take some intentional time today or this week to just journal that question down and find a quiet space where God can just meet you.

God, where are you calling me to flow in 2026? Where are you calling me to flow with you in 2026? I promise he has a plan for you. He has a plan for your life. He wants nothing more than to reveal that to you, but you must slow down enough to hear him. Psalm 46, 10, it's right behind me on the wall, right where I do all my morning quiet time.

for my own reminder of that. Be still and know that I am God. Psalms 46 10. He wants to speak to us. He wants to speak to you. And he has plans to prosper you, to give you hope, to give you a future. And so will you let him flow in your life in 2026?

Jill O'Boyle (25:24.781)
Ponder that question. Seek Him for those answers. And honestly, in just a few weeks, I am hosting one of my favorite women's retreats, the 828 retreat. It's rooted in Romans 828, my favorite scripture. I know that you've heard me say it over and over. We know that what? All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. So hey, if you have landed on this podcast, on this episode today,

It's not by coincidence. I am so glad you are here because God brought you right here to this message. And so don't dismiss this. I would love to invite you to take that next intentional step and join us at the 828 retreat happening on February 27th and 28th. It's two intentional days where we as women come together in a cozy lodge, cabins, we get intentional and we discover the more.

that God has for us. He always has more for us. We gotta flow with Him with that. And so during our two days together, my vision is to just guide you through the flow of the weekend, creating a space for just reflection and connection, clarity. Like, we're gonna talk about the unique threads of your life, your gifts, your passions, your relationships, your experiences, and you're gonna be able to see how God is weaving all of this together.

for good. And so it's gonna be an amazing two days. We're gonna open up with worship music on Friday night by Mia Baldwin. I got Shan Wright joining us for a workshop Friday evening called One Life. It's gonna be incredible. Saturday morning, we're gonna spend from about nine to four together, unpacking our life, discovering our two-word purpose. We're gonna be followed by an incredible workshop led by Stephanie Martino.

helping us to just release and receive so we can go where God is calling us. So letting go of just what's weighing us down, making space for the life God is calling us to just flow into. You guys, it's gonna be incredible. So you can learn more by visiting jillaboyle.com, go to the 828 Retreat, or just click the link here in the show notes below. You guys, it's time to flow, flow with me.

Jill O'Boyle (27:46.677)
So if you like this episode, please make sure you stick around, subscribe, share this message with a friend that needs to hear it. I have some amazing episodes up ahead that the Lord is just putting on my heart to share with you, so you do not want to miss it. I can't wait. Until next time, until then, go out, make it a great day, be you, love life, and always just keep rising up and go with the flow.