WHEN YOU HEAR THE phrase “let it go,” you just might hear the song from the movie Frozen playing in your head, especially if you’ve heard it often because you have a young daughter at home. On this journey, you need to continue to play that phrase over and over in your head, because it’s something you need to do, even though doing so isn’t easy. Or at least it wasn’t easy for me. Sometimes I even felt “frozen.” Even though I knew I couldn’t solve this on my own, I kept trying to do so. I couldn’t just “let it go” and give it to God; instead I held on tight. I was trying to “be God,” instead of letting God be God for me.
As I was beginning to write these devotions, I looked at the many verses highlighted in my Bible, looking for ones that I might use. As I looked at each one, I noticed a consistent message throughout: Give it all to God and trust him. I won’t share all the verses, but here are some worth reading time and again.
This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” ( Jeremiah 17:5-8).
I felt “cursed” with a heavy load weighing me down. I didn’t realize that by trusting in myself, I was bringing the “cursed” feeling upon me.
The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him (Nahum 1:7).
You feel honored when someone trusts you, and you don’t want to let them down. I know that when people put their trust in me, I go the “extra mile” to make certain it works out and that I do what I say I’ll do. God does that with us. He cares for us and loves us and won’t let us down. He wants us to keep trusting in him for everything because it draws us closer to him.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me (Psalm 28:7).
It’s simple; when our hearts trust him, he helps us. My head so wanted to trust, but my heart just couldn’t let go. Pretty stupid actually; but it happened. That was me. Life became so much easier when my heart let it go and trusted him.
If you’re struggling, holding on tight, trying to figure this out all on your own, listen to that song and begin to “let it go!” Then take the big step—like the one off a diving board for the first time. Let go and trust. Once you do, you’ll be much more content and at peace with what’s happening in your life.
This week’s blog is an excerpt from How Long, O Lord, How Long? Devotions for the Unemployed and Those Who Love Them, By author Dale Kreienkamp.
