Letting Go

As I walk through what must be the most difficult, painful, and confusing valley of my life, I find that I have one of two choices:

1. I can shake my fist at God and either fake or leave the faith

OR

2. I can pray, be still, and wait for God to reveal some meaning and purpose. Remembering that God is not obligated to give me a response in which case I must just trust Him – remember Job.

I chose the latter response, and I would like to share with you one of the thoughts that, I feel, God brought to my mind during this time.

Anthropologists would say that natural man, at a very basic level, started out as being hunters /gathers. Their survival, security, and identity being realized through the activity of hunting and gathering their clothing and food. Today, as in the past, we hunt and gather for our clothing, food, shelter, safety, identity, security, and prestige. Instead of using bows and arrows, we use our time, our talents, our position, and our occupations as our weapons of choice.

Today, we are particularly adaptable at the gathering part of the equation. As I walk down my streets, I see multiple cars in driveways and, if any of the garage doors are open, I quickly understand why the cars are in the driveways. The garages are jammed with stuff, and you know that it’s probably overflowing from their basement. Is it any wonder that one of the fastest-growing businesses today is the self-storage business? People renting more space to store their gatherings. We have become a society of master barn builders.

Nearing the end of his life, the greatest gather of all time, Solomon opened Ecclesiastes with

Eccl 1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?

In this case, the term vanity is not used in the “look at me” context but it is used to mean a mist, a vapor, something fleeting. Basically, he is saying “What’s the point”?

I have recently been watching a British documentary series called Time Team. It is a show where this team of archeologists. with various areas of expertise, are called out to places all over the UK to dig up suspected archeological sites and look for settlements, buildings, and artifacts and they must do it in 3 days. As they dig up Saxon/Norman Palaces once occupied by England’s great kings/queens or a grand Roman villa, built after the great Roman Empire conquered Britain, with its incredible central heating, lavish bathhouses, and extravagant mosaic floors I think of Solomons words vanity, vanity and say What was the point?

In my quiet time with God, it was brought to my mind that rather than life being an exercise in gathering it is, actually, an exercise in letting go. From the very beginning of our life, we go through a never-ending series of letting go moments.

Letting Go, as newborns, of the warmth, comfort, and security of our mother’s womb screaming as we are dragged into a seemingly cold and inhospitable place. Until we experience the warmth, safety, and comfort of our mother’s embrace.

Letting Go, as infants, as we fight and struggle when we are forced to abandon our selfish attitude of me, my, mine, and “what I want, I want now, and if I don’t get it no one will have any peace.” Until we realize that our parents love us, have our best interests at heart, and can be trusted

Letting Go, as young adults, when we decide to marry, the essence of two becoming one involves the process of letting go of some of the parts of our previous single life, which were once important to us, and developing new parts in our married life which would be far, far more precious.

Letting Go, when we have children, and our individual priorities get pushed further down the list as our family priorities moved to the top.

Letting Go, when the love of our life passes away and the two who became one is now half running around trying to become whole again and to discover who they are and where they fit in. Realizing that the balance of their life will only have purpose or meaning if they are willing to let go.

Our last act of Letting Go takes place as we go through the process of dying, leaving this place, and letting go of everything that is here. Vanity, vanity all is vanity

Most, if not all, of these points of letting go occur in everyone’s life and I am sure each of us has other instances of letting go moments. If we are honest, we will acknowledge that despite the uncertainty and pain of Letting Go, once done, we often end up in a far better place.

For Christians there are additional incidences of letting go, that will ultimately define their Christian life. Starting when they decide to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Letting Go as newborns in Christ we are pulled out of the seemingly warm, comfortable, and secure womb of this world and brought into a new reality and embraced by the warm loving arms of our father God.

Col 1: 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

Letting Go when as infants in Christ we must abandon the “me”,” my”, and “mine” elements of our lives and die to self. We continually are letting go as we are weaned off the milk and bread diets of infancy and embark on the maturing process of taking off the old self and putting on the new.

Eph.4:20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

When Jesus walked on the beach of the lives of his disciples, he told them to drop their nets and follow Him. As fishermen, their nets were the source of their identities, social status, livelihoods, and security. As they continued to walk with Jesus, they were constantly being given “letting go” lessons as they transitioned from babes in Christ to mature followers of Christ.

Many of us try putting the new self on over the old self, hanging on to some of our worldly desires, and are content to live this way until we realize that it doesn’t work, God wants us to be a new creation, not a refurbished one:

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Christ tells us that we can not put new wine into old wineskins for us this means letting go

Letting go is often unnerving, painful, and even frightening so it is critical that we keep our eyes on the prize by remembering God’s promises to us. We must be in His word daily.

Letting go is a true test of our trust in God. As difficult as this may be we must remember that it is our actions and not our beliefs or words that reveal whether or not we trust God.

Phil 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance, and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

We also have encouragement from Christ who said:

Matt 6:31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Letting Go is the product of Trust and trust manifests itself through belief. So, if we are not willing to let go, we must ask ourselves do we really believe.

When we let go, we are not losing something we are freeing ourselves in order to take hold of something far, far, more precious.