Letting Go

Have you ever held on to something so hard and so long that when you try to let go your fist is stiff and refuses to unclench itself? If no then try it, take one of your hands and clench it around the pointer finger of your opposite hand as hard as you can for a minute or two, then remove your pointer finger but keep your hand clenched, lastly slow let your hand unclench. Does it feel stiff and ungiving? I think that's they way letting go of just about anything can feel. We try our hardest to hold on to things because we are afraid of losing something that was once there but is now gone, or we are mad and we hold on to our anger because we are stubborn. The problem with holding on is that the longer we hold on to things, by the time we finally realize enough is enough and we need to let go, we have a hard time doing it because that thing that we have become so used to holding on. We clench up and in the end it causes more pain that it would have in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, when we lose someone or something, there IS a grieving process that we all must go through and will go through, and that process takes different amounts of time for everyone. That being said, there comes a time when we need to be able to let go and give it to God. This is something that I have struggled with A LOT recently. I went through a rough break-up this summer. Honestly, I was not ready to let go when it happened and I fought it for weeks after it occurred. Then I started to go through a time of anger and resentment. I am just now starting to get out of this stage. My problem however is that I have, until recently, been unwilling to let go and give control to God. This is ironic to me because before the break-up I had been struggling to give control to God with another choice in my life, which was whether or not I would be going back to Kuyper College this fall. I had finally come to the conclusion that I just needed to let go and let God and honestly I thought I did a pretty good job. Guess not huh? 

All in all, I don't have a guaranteed formula for letting go of the things that are holding us back. I wish I could say I have all the answers but that would mean I'm not human and I don't need God and that is clearly NOT the case. Letting go is a process, but it is also something that requires the help and peace that only God can give. Hebrews 12:1 says "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" Not only does this verse tell us that we should set aside and LET GO of everything the weighs us down but we should do so in order to set an example for those around us. We are indeed surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses and many of those witnesses are fellow believers! Let's not be afraid to confide in them! One of the biggest helps for me was when I was able to share what I was going through with a great friend and mentor of mine. After we got all done talking and I was completely spent emotionally he turned to me and said "Ryan, do me a favor, Next time call me sooner." We were not meant to carry our burdens on our own. As fellow believers we are called to help one another in our times of trouble and sometimes this means helping each other let go. My challenge to you my readers is this. If ever you find that you are having trouble letting go of something, don't go about it alone! at a bare minimum bring it before God. Cry out to the God who loves you and say "I CAN'T HOLD ON TO THIS ANY LONGER! HELP ME!"1 John 5:14-15 says "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" and once you have done that, if you feel comfortable, confide in a fellow brother or sister in Christ. Supporting one another is one of the things we are called to do.

Until next time folks,
TTFN