Fully Letting Go
Fully Letting Go
For a lot of us, letting go is just something we cannot or will not do. Some might call yourselves control freaks, smart, planner, or just super ridiculously awesome! Whichever phrase you might choose, we all know that we can have a little bit of “I’ve got this” syndrome. While not terrible to have, maybe the perspective that I’m coming from might help all of us to move toward Christ together.
What I want to focus on is what the title of this blog means as it pertains to YOUR life, not just mine. SIT DOWN.... Oh wait you probably already are, BUCKLE UP, LETS GO! See what I did there? Lets go....... Letting go, the title, anyways..... This process is still pretty fresh as God has been revealing the parts of my life that I haven’t been (insert blog title here). So bear with me as I unpack and process this through my keyboard.
It all started on a trip to Dallas with our church leadership team. The time at the conference was amazing; times of just being separated from the daily grind and focusing on just Jesus and how He is moving in our lives and church. But one particular night sticks out to me as a huge lesson for me. We were just coming back from the conference headed to the AirBnB when Treasa got a call from close friends who were having trouble with a real estate deal that they knew God had led them to. Right then and there Treasa let us know that later we would be Face-Timing these friends and praying for them and their situation. Immediately, I started asking for a word from God for them, an insight, guidance, anything that could be of help. The Lord said to me, “I will give you the word when it comes time”. Which to me means, wait, be patient, have faith in me that I will give you what you need when you need it. In my head I replied with the most holy response, “oh thanks God, just leaving me hanging out to dry until the last second, appreciate that!”. I know, I know, I can hear what you’re saying to me through your screen. Fast forward to the Face-Time call, still haven’t heard anything from the Lord. One person in, still nothing! Two people in, STILL NOTHING. “It’s almost my turn Lord, help me out here!”. “Psalm 24:1” “oh snap, He spoke, go Josh, go!” I read it, Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. “Lord, whaaaat?” Now, it’s my turn to pray by the way. The Lord says, “start reading and I will give you the words to say”. I start reading and sure enough He starts speaking to me on what to say. The first line you ask? “How silly it is that we contend for things that aren’t ours”. In my mind I'm going, “waaaaaaiiiittttttttt! WAIT LORD, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE ENCOURAGING FOR WHAT YOU ARE LEADING THEM THROUGH!” Then He started to unpack it for me. What He was saying in this moment to me spoke so profoundly. He was saying, if you really believe that my Word is true, if you really believe in who I AM, then you would believe that everything on the earth is MINE. Sure, you make contracts on paper that I created, and exchange money on material that I made, with hands on your body that I formed in your mother’s womb. Dang, I know right? Thats what I thought. He continued to unpack this in my heart. So if everything is mine, why do you contend with your own power to sway the things of this world one way or the other? It’s mine, right? So come to Me when things need to be moved. Come to Me when things need altered. I OWN AND CREATED EVERYTHING!
I don’t want to come out and just tell you that your perspective needs to change on things in your life as it has mine. Believe me, this is still a fresh wound that He has opened. I realize that God owns your heart and only He can move it. So I contend to the Lord that He sway your spirit and heart toward this lesson - everything is His! Its a rough one! It absolutely makes me realize how selfish my thinking was and still is. It’s a lesson that is, frankly, a really difficult one to grab a hold of. The thought of God owning everything you think you own. Your mind, your body, your spirit, your heart, your money, your cars, your family, your house, your job, your grass, your dog, your cat, your toothbrush....... you get it. Fully Let it Go! He owns it all!
Practically this is what this lesson can look like. A surrender to which you have not known. A personal walk with Him deeper than you have ever walked. Truly a life given to Christ, fully surrendered to Him. Your money, a tithing and giving life more generous than you could ever imagine. A family, led by God Himself, why? Because you have fully let it go to Him, so that you may be taught by Him how to lead them, how to be responsible for them, how to guide them.
Please know that this is not a message of God giving you wealth and plenty, this is simply a call for you to realize that nothing in your life is yours. As fast as it is given, it can be taken away as seen by the life of Job in the Bible. Fully letting go because it was never yours to begin with.
PLEASE, PLEASE do not read this as me saying you let it go because you don’t own it and therefore releasing you of all responsibility of everything that you have! Not what I am saying at all. You have been given things to responsibly steward from the Lord, but what a different perspective it is to take when you say, thank you for trusting me with this, I fully let it go for you to lead me in this area. Lord, it is yours, do what you will with it! All is His!
Psalm 24:1, Deuteronomy 10:14, Psalm 89:11, Genesis 14:9, Psalm 50:12, Psalm 104:24, Leviticus 25:23, Job 41:11, Psalm 95:4-5, Psalm 50:10-11, Leviticus 27:30, Haggai 2:8, Psalm 74:16, Jeremiah 46:10, Daniel 2:20, Romans 12:19