Let It Go, Let It Go…

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            As the school year was coming to an end excitement filled our campus as children quickly signed up to be a part of this year’s “Talent Show”. Submissions poured in as the “talent show board” reviewed the numbers and approved the songs. The most popular song without a doubt was “Let it go” from the movie “Frozen”. It almost seemed as though everywhere I went I could hear the song playing in the background. The tune is so catchy that I oftentimes found myself humming the chorus uninterruptedly…Let it Go, Let it Go.

The Lord says “Forget what happened before, and do not think about, consider or dwell on the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do”. (Is 43:18,19)

This is one of my favorite verses. In a nutshell God is saying “Let it Go”, let go of the past and fix your eyes on the things that I am doing. The verse goes on to say; “I will make a road in the wilderness; and rivers in the dry desert”. Letting go and letting God take over is perhaps one of the most difficult of all things in life. It puts our faith and trust in the Lord to the test. It shows our true colors. Letting go brings blessing by allowing God to operate in our lives.

You see, gazing into the past obsessing over the things of yesterday will send you into a catatonic state that numbs your perception of today and keeps you from seeing God’s greatness. You become like a pillar of salt, as Lot’s wife did (Gen. 19:26), suspended in time; lifeless and bound up by life’s afflictions and sorrows.

Holding on to the vicissitudes and tragedies of yesterday cause you to negate the promises that God has placed before you. And just as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years towards a destination they should have reached in a couple of weeks you too are going in circles wasting your time. God has called you to “set your mind and thoughts on the things above and not on the things of earth” (Col 3:2). In doing this you will reach your “promise land”.

God wants to do a new thing in your life.

Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers yet didn’t hold on to a grudge. David was born in a place of rejection and was frowned upon by his own father. Ruth was a widow following a widowed mother-in-law into unknown territory with nothing to call their own. Esther was an orphan being raised by an uncle during uncertain times. And because of their faithfulness and their ability to look ahead and not look back through the rear view mirror of life God blessed them. Joseph became one of the greatest leaders in the Old Testament. David was given kingship over Israel and was called by God “a man after His own heart”. Ruth married a wealthy man by the name of Boaz and she bore a child named Obed. They became part of the lineage of Jesus Christ. And Esther became a queen and helped free the Jewish nation. None of this would have happened had they focused on their past.

What’s keeping you from moving forward?

I once read a story about a man who had tied a puppy to a tree. The chain measured 6 feet in length and was bound to its neck. Fastened to the tree it sat there everyday. At 3 o’clock, without skipping a beat, the neighbor’s cat would cross right in front of it tantalizing the poor pup. The dog would bolt towards the cat and 6 feet later it would come to a complete, abrupt and painful stop! The cat was 6 inches too far out of reach. The dog did this everyday for 5 years.

One day the owner decided it was time to free the dog from its imprisonment. He untied the dog liberating it from the chain that had controlled it for most of its life. So as you would expect at 3 o’clock the following day as the dog sat in the shade of the tree the cat appeared. The dog’s ears perked up, it got into sprinting position and raced towards the cat…6 feet later it came to a complete, abrupt and painful stop!

What happened??? The dog had been physically liberated from its captivity however it was still mentally bound to the shackles and the chain of its past.

Oftentimes, we as believers, know that we have been freed through Christ and that in Him we are made brand new. God says “Now I will break his yoke from you and tear away your shackles” (Nahum 1:13). However it’s almost like we are mentally programmed and as we submit to those mental playbacks we fail to test and approve God’s good, perfect and pleasing will for our lives. We realize that

Ask yourself these questions: What’s holding me back? What’s keeping me bound up in shackles? What keeping me from reaching God’s perfect will for my life? Perhaps it’s sin, fear, words that were spoken over you, failure or addictions. Whatever the situation may be bring them before the Lord and He will bring restoration to your heart and mind. Realize that no matter what your past was like God can still use you. God still desires to bless you. God still loves you…

Max Lucado penned the following statement “ God accepts you right where you are at but He doesn’t want to see you stay there the rest of your life”

God wants to see you well, prospering and living out the plan he has set before you. It’s time that you realize that. Stop nursing your wounds from the past – Get up and move forward!

Shalom,

Milton