Let Go!
Whether or not we are aware of it, our childhood has a powerful impact on who we are and how we view life. Childhood wounds can affect us in both positive and negative ways, and can be a significant influence in our choices, decisions, goals and aspirations. Wounds that are left unhealed can cause a person to become excessively controlling or passive. For some of us, the struggles with our past have driven us to God: to the realization that we desperately need Him and want His help. Yet even after giving our lives to Christ, many of us struggle to fully trust Him and yield control of our lives to Him.
I learned the phrase many years ago, “Let go and let God.” It’s so simple to say, but why is it so hard for us to do? To truly let go and let God? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding,” Proverbs 3:5 (ESV) reminds us. Most of us have experienced a violation of our trust by another person, and the pain of such an experience can make it very difficult to ever trust again. If we can’t trust people how can we trust God? Does God want us to trust Him? Absolutely! Does God understand the hurts from our past? Absolutely! He wants to heal our hearts so we can be all that He has created us to be. But how do we get there?
Part of this struggle is our own personal battle with our “human nature” which is actually our “sin nature.” We can all relate to what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter seven: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (verse 15) Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (verse 20) Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (verses 24-25).
So, is Paul saying we can simply blame our sinfulness on our human nature and give up on ever being different? No! He is reminding us of the power of our new life in Christ to conquer our old sinful lives. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2) (ESV)
The Holy Spirit was sent as our helper, comforter and counselor. As we face our wounds, we can rely on God’s precious Holy Spirit to help us know the truth, to accept the truth, and to allow Him to replace the pain with His truth and love. After all, Jesus taught us, “the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32b)(ESV)
The Holy Spirit is also the “voice” that we hear saying, “Look over here: this has to go, this has to change.” We are always left with a choice to surrender to Him or to resist and turn away. God doesn’t force us to accept His ways. He wants us to choose His ways over our own. His ways are higher and His thoughts are higher than ours. Higher means better; higher means greater.
Wounds can leave us crippled, can leave us guarded, fearful and untrusting. If we are to move forward in God’s call on our lives, then we need to get free from whatever holds us back so we can allow Him to make us productive in His Kingdom and to produce good fruit in His name. When we have to be “in control,” we are preventing God from having control. We are living in fear rather than faith. “Whatever is not from faith is sin,” Paul teaches us. (Romans 14:23) So we must recognize the areas in our lives where we have not yet given God control. If we will ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand why we feel the need to control and not let God have His way, He will show us. Sometimes it is just a matter of humbling ourselves before Him and admitting we have been wrong. 1 Peter 5:6-7 is a good reminder for us, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” It isn’t a weak thing to humble yourself, it’s a good and right thing in God’s eyes. Great joy will come when you fully submit to His ways and are able to “cast all your cares” on Him. That means trusting Him with your finances, trusting Him to heal relationships, even trusting Him for peace of mind in this crazy world.
We can also count on God’s wonderful grace. And what is grace? It is Undeserved, unmerited favor. We can cry out to Him for favor and grace as we face difficult and uncomfortable seasons when we are facing our wounds and fears.
No, it is not always easy, and God often asks us to be patient. James 5:11 says, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord – that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” Don’t give up! Don’t think that it’s too difficult to be free, that it’s easier just to quit. No! You will not come into freedom by giving up or quitting.
I recently heard a woman testify that although she was over 70 and has known the Lord from a young age, for most of her life she has been a “worry wart.” Every time she would try to cast her cares upon the Lord, she would hang onto some of that care and not really give it all over to Him. She testified that for the past year she has been able to “cast her cares” upon Him and NOT hold any of it back, and for the first time in her life she is living in true peace. I was deeply blessed by her testimony and by her honesty. I was also sad that for all of these years she lived in worry, fear and doubt, missing out on the joy and peace God meant for her to have all of her life. Praise God that she has it now, but how long are we going to wait to fully release our wounds and trust God so we can have that joy and peace as well? Let’s do it now.
Below are some other scriptures to look up and study, meditate on or memorize. These will help you in your quest to “Let go and let God” and live a control-free life, fully abandoned to our Savior and Lord.
James 4:7-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.
Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.
Psalm 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
Matthew 10:39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I realize, Lord, that there are many ways that I have felt that I need to be in control. I now see that this is sin and faithlessness. Trusting in You is the better way. I surrender to You right now. I ask You to take control of these areas I’ve held onto, and I submit to Your loving hand to lead and direct me. I ask that You will help me to experience your healing, healing of past experiences that have left me wounded . May I experience the joy and peace that You long to give me. Thank you, Lord that Your ways are higher than my ways and are better than my best thought-out plans. I submit my life to You now and I thank You for your gentle, loving discipline as You reveal to me the areas where I need to change.
In Your precious holy name I pray,
Amen
All scriptures are quoted from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.
By Sherry McPherson | August 27, 2009 12:50 pm | Comments (2)