Letting Go

We’ve all had, or are still dealing with situations that just don’t seem to work out the way we had hoped they would – despite our best efforts. Sure we may pray about it (if that)- but when we pray, are we like the woman in the scenario described below?

SCENE: A woman is sitting on the floor, legs crossed in front her. Her gaze is focused; her concentration intense. She is holding an object in her hands. Her fingers move non-stop as she fiddles with it; turning it this way and that way; trying to figure it out. Just then, God comes and stands in front of her. She barely notices Him until the sound of His voice startles her.

God: Hi sweetheart. What are you doing?
Her: Oh. Hi God! I’m just trying to work on this situation.
God: Still? You’ve been at that for quite a while now. How is it going?
Her: Well, to be honest, progress is a little slow.
God: Do you want my help?
Her: (flashing a huge smile) Yes! I would love that! Thanks!
God: Okay. Give it to me.
She hands the ‘situation’ to Him and He turns around and starts to walk away with it.
Her: Um wait a second God. Where are you going?
God: I’m off to handle your situation.
Her: No, I want you to sit here with me and work on it while I watch – so I can see if You’re handling it in a manner that suits me.
God: Sweetie, that’s not how this works. You give it to me. You leave it with me. I handle it. It’s an exercise in trust and faith.
Her: O…kay – she says hesitantly – But can You tell me how You intend on handling it?
God doesn’t respond but smiles at her.
Her: Okay, You don’t have to tell me all the details. At least tell me the overarching plan.
God: Sweetheart, no. You just have to trust me.
God starts to walk away again when she calls out to Him…
Her: God! On second thoughts, you know what, just give it back. I was on the verge of figuring it out anyway.
God: Were you really? So what is that pile on the side there?
She frantically tries to conceal the pile of rubble beside her but it’s an exercise in futility.
Her: Oh that? Those are just my previous attempts at fixing it. I intend to retry some of the ways – they just might work this time.
God: Okay baby. As you wish. He says while handing her back the ‘situation’. When you’re ready for my help, I’ll be here.
She barely hears His last words. She is busy sorting through the rubble pile; her jaw clenched; her determination strong.

SCENE: It’s now been days, weeks, months,… the woman is still fiddling with her ‘situation’. The rubble pile of failed attempts has grown significantly; towering over her; threatening to topple over. Her frustration level is through the roof. She tosses the ‘situation’ aside; defeated. She covers her face with her hands; her body convulses with gutted cries. Just then, she feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks up. It’s God!

Her: Oh Father! It’s been awful! She says as she leaps up on her feet and clings on to Him as though for dear life. He holds her tightly as she continues sobbing. I can’t handle this. I can’t figure it out! I did everything in my power and knowledge and nothing worked!
God: I know baby. I’ve been watching you. Waiting for you to invite me back. Do you want my help?
She breaks free from the embrace, retrieves the ‘situation’ from whence she had tossed it, and dumps it in God’s hands.
Her: Here! Take it! I don’t want to deal with it any more. You can have it. You figure it out. I don’t even need to know what Your plan is – just help me. Please.
God: Okay sweetheart. Leave it with me. I will sort it out.
‘Situation’ in hand, God starts to walk away and looks back at her; waiting to see if she will rescind as she did last time. But this time round, she utters not a word. She nods at Him, gratefully. And off He goes, ‘situation’ in hand, whistling to Himself…

Did you see yourself in this scenario? I’ve certainly been there. There are certain situations I hesitate to hand over to God – and when I do, it’s not fully. I try to solve it on my own; trusting in my own abilities to “fix it”. When I am tired of failing and I come to the end of myself, that’s when I cry out to God – begging Him to take it from me. But God is always so faithful. He never taunts me with “I told you so”, but rather He is quick to embrace me and step into my situation with His supernatural power.

Why do we wait so long to invite the limitless, all-powerful, Creator of the universe into our circumstances? Why must we wait until we are “battered and bruised” before crying out to Him? I think we hesitate because God doesn’t always show us His plan. He wants us to trust His ways and have faith in Him – sight unseen. This is pretty unnerving for those who are afraid of not being in control of their circumstances; or those who, like me, need to know all the facts before agreeing to a decision or plan of action.

I think we also hesitate because we know that when we give God control it means that we have to play by HIS rules, not ours; and that can be daunting. While we tend to see the situation for what it is (face value), God may see it differently. He may use it as an avenue to teach us more about Himself, or to make us more Christ-like, or to deal with things in our lives that are not pleasing to Him or things that are holding us back from His best for us – which means that the route to His solution might be full of soul-searching and pruning “detours” – and we might not be willing for Him to take us down some of those paths.

Is surrendering control to God worth it? Absolutely! Will it hurt? Sometimes. Will it be easy? Probably not. Sometimes things will get worse before they get better. Sometimes God will ask you to give up something or someone you love. He might ask you to embrace something or someone that you are not particularly fond of. He might require you to accept an apology you’ve never received; or offer forgiveness to someone who has never asked it of you. He may ask you to give up your need to feel justified; to feel avenged; to be heard; to be understood; to be right. He might stretch you far outside your comfort zone – and it may feel like He’s demanding more from you than you are capable of doing . This doesn’t sound like fun, does it? It’s scary and it’s uncomfortable. Is it any wonder then that we hesitate to truly and totally give God full control of our situations? Full control of our lives?

But yet if/when we do, it’s totally rewarding! I have numerous powerful testimonies of what God has accomplished after I’ve completely given total control of my circumstances to Him. He solves, in no time at all, what took eons trying to solve on my own. And His solutions always far exceed my expectations. He deals with everything completely – from the root up; from the inside out.

There are times we think we have given total control to God; but if we’re doing the following, it means we’ve taken back control of our situation : 1) we obsessively worry about it; 2) we doubt and do not trust His plan; 3) we’re not still; 4) we fail to obey every instruction God gives us along the way in order to fix/deal with the situation; 5) we try to circumvent His plan by coming up with shortcuts of our own; 6) we give up hope that our situation can ever change; 7) we withhold our praise and thanksgiving until the situation changes.

Letting go and letting God is easier said than done; but God does provide the peace, grace and the strength that we need to trust, obey, and persevere as He works towards solving our issues. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think according to His power that is at work within us.

Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.
Psalm 46:10a – “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Philippians 4:6-7 – Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 11:28 – Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
James 1:2-3 – Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

I wrote a blog in the past titled “CONVOY” that I think describes what letting go and letting God looks like. Check it out. 🙂

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