Letting Go

"Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

- John 6:68-69

As you follow the Lord, have you ever had to let go of someone? Perhaps not in proximity, just inwardly. I had to do it again. God was speaking to me for a few weeks now, to let go of my intentions for someone, someone special. Yes, you've guessed it. I was in love. Was. But now God just wants me to be in love with Jesus only, for now at least.

Letting go of someone or something may be difficult. Abraham was asked to offer his son Isaac on the altar. John the Baptist had to let go of a potential ministry in priesthood to become the voice in the desert who would prepare the way of the Lord. Jesus Himself laid down His life on the cross to pay the price for our sins.

Following in Jesus' footsteps means realizing that He is not cold or distant to our struggles. It also means that we're trusting Him, and could say together with Jesus, "Nevertheless not as I will, but as You will." Not our will, but God's will be done.

When we give God a blank piece of paper, He draws something wonderful on that paper. He is the master craftsman, and we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. That blank piece of paper is our lives. I'm excited at what God's gonna do in my life. I've given Him my paper. Have you given Him yours? He says He knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us (Jer. 29:11).

We may feel crucified whenever we surrender to the Lord, but the crucified life is also the resurrected life. God's Spirit and power that raised Jesus from the dead dwell in us (Rom. 8:11).

To close this post, I want to quote one of Jeremy Camp's songs entitled "Letting Go", from his album "Restored" (which I highly recommend):

Letting go of the things I hold so dear
Letting go of all my pain and all my fears
Holding on to the things I deem so strong
Holding on even though my faith has been built so long
Holding on to the things I deem so strong
Holding on, holding on to what I know
I'm letting go