LETTING GOD
'One of the greatest spiritual tasks is that of giving up control and letting the spirit of God lead your life.'
Henri Nuowen
Walk with me.
I'm coming to the altar.
My Father's arms are open wide.
My right, bought with the precious Blood of Christ.
Prayer
Loving Lord Jesus I want to yield up my life into Your hands for my life seems to be falling apart at the seams and I am desperate. Oh Lord I don’t know which way to turn nor do I know what to do and I am coming to You confessing my need of You in my life - and pray that You will forgive me of my pride in trying to be the god of my own existance. Lord I have made ME the centre of my life and not You and I pray You would help me to change.
Lord I don’t really know how to “let go”. I don’t really know what to do to give You control of my life but I am coming to You in humility of heart to admit that I can do nothing in my own strength and to confess my need of You in my life. Lord, I pray that Your grace and mercy would lead and guide me and take control.
But Lord I also ask – that You would teach me how to submit my life to You. Show we how to abide in You day by day - and instruct me how to live in spirit and truth. Help me Lord to give control of my life over to You in every way, and to become the person You would have me be. Thank You Lord that You have not given up on me and I ask You to teach me Your way from this day forward, in Jesus name I pray,
Amen
Word
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you
Deuteronomy 31:8
A Devotional on Letting Go by Proverbs 31.
It had been months since my 25-year marriage abruptly ended, and the emotional devastation was overwhelming. It felt like a tsunami had slammed into my reality and nothing seemed the same.
As I waded through each painful day, facing challenges around every corner, everything felt unfamiliar and new — and not a good type of new. In fact, I felt like I was sinking under the weight of toxic emotions and the heaviness of all the “new” pulling me under.
The day came when I caved under the weight of it all, feeling completely broken, weak and incredibly alone. But as I called out to God for comfort with tears streaming down my face, I suddenly sensed I wasn’t alone at all. Peacefully, His presence floated gently into mine, and a beautiful passage suddenly came to mind from the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 43:18 begins by saying, “But forget all that — it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.”The Israelites were stuck in the past, remembering their former captivity and the miracles God had done, yet fearing the new freedom they now lived in. In Isaiah 43:19a, we see Him telling them why to stop looking back and longing for what was gone: “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?”
Here, the Lord encourages His people to let go of the old and embrace the new, even though this new seemed scary and unfamiliar. He wanted them to open their eyes to see He was still at work and still sovereign. By keeping their eyes focused on the past, they were blinded to the good new things He was doing.
God knew this habit of sinking in negative thoughts and feelings about the past, present or future was standing in the way of them embracing the new with a positive mindset — especially if they had no idea what that new was going to look like.
As I pondered this verse, I sensed He was giving me permission to stop mourning the past and embrace the new with a heart full of faith and a mind full of optimism. I couldn’t change my circumstances, but I could change my thoughts about them.
As you enter this new season of change, maybe like me, you’re also entering an unfamiliar season of new in some way. We all experience new seasons of life from time to time, with some being positive and some negative; some wanted, and some unwanted; some exciting and some terrifying.
But regardless of the new that lies before us, how we choose to look at and think about those seasons of newness will determine whether or not we walk through them with peace, hope and joy, or with heartache, anxiety and fear.
When we intentionally choose to believe God’s new is always good — even if we didn’t ask for it, want it or understand it — we can step into the new with courage, bravery, a positive attitude and an unsinkable faith. Letting go of the old frees up our hearts to embrace God’s new for us.
Praise