Step Five: Let Go To Grab Ahold Of

This is something I’ve been putting off writing. I know I shouldn’t have, but writing it forces me to act on it. It’s nothing monumental, just implementing some self-discipline on a phone game I’ve been playing. Even though it’s a small thing, there’s a lot of pride stopping me. I like to tell myself that I deserve to have a little game that I can unwind with. That I deserve to keep it and put time into it. There might be some validity to that, but I know that it gets in the way of God, and I need to put it in its place.

 When I was at my best spiritually, I had years where I would wake up and have God time every day. I would also end the day falling asleep praying for people. I’ve gotten away from that, but I want to get back to it.

However, life isn’t quite that easy all the time. Our days are often filled with things we want to get done, with goals of ours. Honestly though, often they’re filled with things that don’t really matter. One of my favorite books in the Bible is Lamentations. I first really read it when I was depressed and very close to suicide. It’s usually the last book you would refer to someone who is depressed, because it talks about how meaningless life is. It talks about how there’s a season for everything, a cycle that just keeps going on, and ultimately, it’s meaningless. And that was the first thing that felt real in a long time.

However, nearer the end, it mentions how the only worthwhile thing is God. He has a plan, He is love, He is justice. And walking the path He wants us on is the only thing that has worth in this life. It’s what gives the things we do, value.

How does that relate to the topic of letting go to grab ahold of though? There are many things we deem important in this world. But God asks us to let go of them all. When we don’t know Him, He asks us to leave everything to come to Him. When we are new disciples, we start to build our lives around what we think God is asking of us. Often, that’s where we stay- In a mix of what we want and what God wants. But God doesn’t want us there. He wants us to continually give up things to pursue Him.

The longer you’re walking with Him the more likely you are to have to let go of something good-probably something He even asked you to do last season-in order to grab ahold of something better.

There are seasons in life, but God is always asking us to be in the present season. There are things that He wants us to let go of today. Right now. To grab ahold of the fresh, new, strong thing he’s doing. I could go into step upon step about how to identify what God is asking us to let go of. But the simple answer is, if you ask in earnest, He’ll reveal it to you.

I’m not saying that it’s going to be fun, or easy, or make you feel good, but stepping out in faith and doing them allows God to make them worthwhile. Doing them in obedience allows God to give us joy in the circumstances. Even if He’s asking me to grab ahold of something difficult-how amazing is that?!?! The creator of the universe is asking something of me. Something that allows other people to see Him through me.

He is partnering with me and I get to be someone who introduces a sliver of Him to those around me. I get to be a part of Him bringing healing and hope to others, just like when I was about to end it all.

So the question I ask myself is, “is what I’m holding onto worth more than what God wants for me?”