Let It Go!

 

This is a devotional I wrote that appeared this month in Arise Daily, a publication of AWSA, a professional writers' group I belong to:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3: 5–6

One of my favorite T-shirts is printed on the front with a silhouette of Elsa and Anna from the movie Frozen, and they’re surrounded by the words, “Trust your journey.”

I enjoy visiting the Disney parks, especially with my grandkids! I don’t agree with all of Disney’s policies, but there is one phrase in one song that I’m in total agreement with: “Let it go!”

Before you cringe and cover your ears, hear me out. There is great value in the meaning of those three words (not to mention, I happen to love hearing them sung!).

The wisdom in those words is far-reaching. There are many struggles, dilemmas and obstacles in life that can be overcome if you just let go of your fear, your bitterness, your anger, your sorrow, your pride, your hatred—whatever it is that you’re holding onto that’s causing internal and/or external damage to your peace, purpose and power. The truth is you need to let it go!

The negative issues we hold onto can be like a tiny pebble in a shoe that irritates with each step and makes serious walking almost impossible. The pebble needs to be removed before you can make significant progress in your life journey.

Like getting rid of an annoying pebble, we can hold our issue up to the light of God’s love and ask Him to take it away. You may need to forgive someone, and God is there to help. Then—here’s where that famous phrase comes into play—let it go! Throw that now-resolved issue out into the cosmos and watch it disappear.

It doesn’t mean that issue never happened; it doesn’t mean someone was not in the wrong for hurting you; it doesn’t mean your heart wasn’t broken. In no way does it negate whatever happened to you, but it does allow you to heal and move on with your life, freed from that nagging burden. Let it go and wave a joyous “good-bye and good riddance!” Praise God! The freedom you will feel after letting go is amazing!

When we trust our journey to God as we’re told in Proverbs, the joy, freedom, peace, power, purpose and direction we’ll enjoy in our lives will be so much greater.  We need to trust our journey to our Heavenly Father - who knows the end from the beginning and everything in between!

Disney doesn’t always get it right and neither do we, but we know who does. If we’ll seek the Lord and His ways, He tells us that He will be found by us. He’ll help us to let go what we need to let go of and grasp onto what we need to hold onto—and that would be Him, our Lord Jesus, who loves us with an everlasting love! Now that’s something we must never let go of!

Prayer: O Lord, help me to be kind and forgiving in all my relationships, even as you have loved and forgiven me.