Letting Go

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

When we find ourselves in difficult times, many of us try and fix our environment. Our first impulse is to look outward and to see how we can change our situation. It is not usually our first instinct to look inward, to work on ourselves.

In my addiction, when life fell apart, I did not immediately start working on my destructive behavior. I tried to escape the consequences of that behavior. When I hurt my loved ones, I do not immediately apologize and change my ways. I try to alter their view of my hurtful actions.

As much as I dislike the phrase, Let go and let God, there is a place for it. In today’s passage, Moses told the Israelites that it was their responsibility to believe in God and leave the results up to Him. Their only concern was to remain on the side of God. They could and did wander from God and repeatedly paid the price. Whenever they followed God though, they could rest confidently in the knowledge that He would never leave them.

We must do the same. The events around us are not to be our primary concern. Our responsibility, at all times, is to follow God. He will take care of the rest. There are some battles that we cannot win. God does not mean for us to engage in such struggles. He longs that we follow and allow Him to do for us that which we cannot do for ourselves.

This is not easy. When things do not go our way, we feel the need to manipulate and control. To this, God says, Your strength is not in your own arm, but in mine. Do not be anxious. Rely on me. Things may not always go the way you think they should, but I am working my will nonetheless. I love you and I will never leave you. Let it go.