EMPOWERING LIVES WITH PURPOSE:
Guest writer:
Connie VanHorn-Willard Winston Salem, North Carolina
Let Go and Let God
Letting go is hard. We tend to hold onto things that are not allowing us to move. We hold things that bind us to our past. We carry the unnecessary baggage that keeps us planted firmly in a position of defeat.
After I met Jesus, I struggled with “letting go” of things that I had held close to for many years. Unforgiveness, anxiety, and selfishness were my tendencies of controlling everything. I thought I could enjoy this new life without having to let go of everything painful that had been weighing me down. It’s easy to let go of the easy surface things… but there is a pruning process that we go through with God that can be painful.
It’s this process with God we tend to avoid.
I struggled with anxiety for most of my life. I was afraid of everything. I would check the locks on the doors multiple times and I never wanted to be alone. I didn’t trust people in general.
It took me nine months of living in a women’s shelter for God to shed this anxiety. I learned God wants to get rid of things that can’t be used in my life. This was very hard to endure. I had many days/nights of wanting to give up and run away…. But I trusted God and His process and every day I would fight through another day. I never lost hope.
God may have to painfully trim off some of the branches to mold you into the person that He created you to be. He did that for me.
By the time I left the shelter almost all of my anxiety was gone. I lived alone for the first time and I didn’t need to constantly check the locks. You see, God is so clever, and He knows exactly what each of us needs to become more like Him. He knew it would take nine months to the day to get the junk out of me. He knew exactly what I needed to go through. I couldn’t see it at the time…, but I trusted the process. I knew God was doing something!
We need to be willing to let go of the life that we planned for ourselves and trust God to lead us into the life He has planned for us. No matter how painful the process is going to be, understand His plan is best.
Our flesh naturally wants to cling to comfort and security.
If we trust God and let go of whatever has us in bondage, we can live as Christ lived, and love as Christ loved.
This is not an easy road. It’s a road that takes trials and a lot of sacrifices. God is good at testing us to see if we truly trust Him. This testing usually hurts. It’s in our pain and suffering that we are formed and become more like His Son.
This process is also testing our obedience. Obedience does not have to make sense. Faith in God is trusting all things, no matter if we (or others) understand it or not. I face this daily in my own life. I truly believe I am living out obedience in a particular situation. It doesn’t make sense to others, but I am trusting God that He is working and doing a good thing in my life. It’s a lot of waiting…. Like eight years of waiting, but I have faith that God will finish what He started. The world doesn’t have to understand something that is just between you and God.
God is looking for a,
“Here I am, send me” attitude.
This is crazy God. I don’t like it. This hurts….
“I trust you God. Let’s do this.”
That’s the attitude God wants from each of us.
To truly let go and let God will take time, testing, and trials. God is growing and maturing us during this process and most of the time it’s because He wants to use our lives in a powerful way.
It takes time and experience to mature our faith. It’s an up-and-down roller coaster. Some people will give up during this process. This is time spent in a pressure cooker. I’ve been here many times myself. God is using these moments in the pressure cooker to grow our faith and strengthen our spirit.
No matter what Abraham went through His response was always the same,
“Here I Am.”
We need to have this same attitude. We should place our trust in God no matter the outcome or how difficult and painful the process.
God knows what He is doing at all times. He can see tomorrow- we can’t.
Our attitude needs to be like Abraham’s…
“Here I am Lord, Send me.”
It’s time to let go….
It’s going to be ok!