Category: Letting Go

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Letting Go: Fear

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Fear.  It can stop us in our tracks, it can send us into hiding, or it can present an opportunity to achieve the impossible.

Take ancient Israel for example, the Israel that Moses led out of Egypt to the edge of the Red Sea.  This nation of newly freed, former slaves of Egypt, were faced with a dilemma:  the Red Sea ahead, and Pharaoh and the Egyptian army closing in behind (you know, a rock and an hard place).  Exodus 14 tells us they were terrified and cried out to the Lord.  Listen to what they said:

They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

I thought of this the other day when contemplating my current job search.  “Why did I ever leave my old job?  I would have been better off staying there than leaving and now facing a difficult job search.”  Maybe you’re facing a similar situation, whether it be related to career, relationships, health or something else.

Guess what happens next?  After promising deliverance, God basically tells the Israelites to quit crying to Him about it and get a move on!  It’s kind of like the swift-kick-in-the-rear my mom used to give me when I was being particularly ornery or stubborn.  God calls the Israelites “stiff-necked.”  Pretty much the same thing.

Don’t just stand there, do something!

So, when I caught myself thinking how good I had it back then, I recalled to mind why I left, and looked to the steps I needed to take forward, confident that the Lord will provide.

Contrast the Israelites with another famous Biblical character, David.  This youngest of 7 brothers and a shepherd (who is selected by the Lord to be king, but is all but forgotten or overlooked by his father when the prophet Samuel is sent to find him), is sent by his father to visit his brothers with provisions where they are encamped for battle against Goliath and the Philistines (1 Samuel 17).

David hears Goliath taunting the Israelites and the Lord, and is shocked that no one will go and fight him.  So he offers to do it himself!  Wasn’t he afraid?  Of course he likely experienced fear, but his confidence came from a past record of facing and overcoming fear, having killed lions and bears with his bare hands and his sling while protecting his herds.  Of course, David’s faith in the Lord was a factor as well, as he saw his past victories as not being his, but of the Lord.

So remember, you have faced fear before, and you will face it again.  Whether it is the same old fear (that you are holding on to) or a new fear (that will inevitably come) depends largely on whether you let it stop you in your tracks, or you let it go and tackle it head on, moving forward.

Finally, when you have faced a fear and moved forward, take a moment to register in your mind what just happened and how you feel on the other side of fear.  Recall this moment the next time you face fear, and it might just provide you the swift kick you need to get moving and let it go.

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Letting Go: Negative Thinking

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Rest assured, I am not a “positivity freak,” or even one that fully buys into the power of positive thinking on its own merit.  But I do believe the following proverb is true:

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Proverbs 23:7

 

Thus, if you think negative thoughts, you will be a negative person, and if you think positive thoughts you will be a positive person.  Sort of.  Just thinking something doesn’t make it so.  You have to believe it to feel it.  Of course believing something doesn’t necessarily make it true either.

That’s where faith comes in to play.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1

 

We can think positive thoughts, and we can believe or hope positive things will happen, but there is no substance to our attempts absent faith.  Faith is what happens when all hope seems in vain, yet we hold fast, though what we hope for remains out of sight.

So how do we accomplish this?  For starters, just let go.  Let go of the negative thoughts – picture them as a lead weights in a backpack that you are just going to drop on the ground and leave.  Then focus on Jesus and keep your focus on Him.  The author of Hebrews puts it this way:

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2

 

The good news?  Jesus both starts and finishes our faith!  All we need to do is let go and run to him.

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Letting Go: Why it’s Hard To Let Go of Clutter

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Ever wonder why we seem to accumulate so much stuff?  Or more, why we find it so hard to throw things away when we actually get around to that spring cleaning project?  This brief but informative article offers this perspective:  because it’s literally painful.

Why it’s Hard To Let Go of Clutter

Published on August 7, 2012 by Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D. in The Science of Willpower

 

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Letting Go: Plans

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We all make plans for our lives.  God has a plan for all of us.  When our plans align with God’s awesome things happen.

Our Plans

We all make plans – some good and some not so good; some we keep and some we abandon; some which we are conscious of and some we are not.  King Solomon recognized that we make plans both with our hearts and with our minds:

The heart of man plans his way (Prov. 16:9)
Many are the plans in the mind of a man (Prov. 19:21)

However, those plans are not always righteous:

Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer. (Prov 24:8)

The prophet Isaiah put it this way:

As for the scoundrel—his devices are evil; he plans wicked schemes to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right.  But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands. (Is. 32:7-8)

Think about the plans you have made or are in the process of making and identify the primary beneficiary.  Are any of your plans made for the benefit of others?  If not, what changes could you make to include the benefit of others?

God’s Plans

Solomon didn’t just recognize that we make plans with our hearts and minds, he also recognized that whatever plans we make, God’s purpose stands firm and He is there to guide our steps:

The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps (Prov. 16:9)

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. (Prov. 19:21)

We can make our plans, and even carry them out, but nothing we plan will alter God’s ultimate purpose.  In fact, God has incredible plans for us, for our ultimate good:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  (Jer. 29:11)

Sometimes we might feel like God’s plan for us is completely off track.  Is it His plan or ours that is truly off track?

Have you ever contemplated what God’s plan for you might be?  Do you see God’s plan for you as something good or bad?  Why?

The Great Alignment

Okay, so I get that we have plans (for good or for evil) and God has plans (for good), but what does this have to do with Letting Go?

When we are willing to

  • seek out counsel,

Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.  (Prov 15:22)

  • seek out what God has planned for us,

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.  (Jer 29:12-13)

  • and commit our actions to God,

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. (Prov. 16:3)

then we are Letting Go of the plans that come from a selfish desire, and allowing God to establish our steps according to his good purpose, for the perfect satisfaction of our deepest desires.

May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!  (Psalm 20:4)

A desire fulfilled is a tree of life. (Prov. 13:12)

Author and preacher John Piper puts it beautifully this way:

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

Are you satisfied with your plans, or are you willing to let go of your plans to seek satisfaction in God and experience the promised fulfillment of your heart’s desire?