In the last blog post called “Peace. Be Still” I talked about finding peace through coming to God and letting go of our worries and cares and focusing on Him.
I want to talk about that a little bit further today. I want to share something I have learned about letting go. It’s not necessarily easy but brings incredible peace, release and freedom to our hearts and minds.
I had a situation recently where I had become quite anxious about something. I knew I had to let it go and leave it with God.
I shared last week how in times like this we need to go into our meditation time and focus on God and stay there until peace comes and fear goes.
But what about when it’s something that we really want to work out a particular way. Something we have our hearts set on; something we really need or want to happen. But maybe it’s not in our control. Maybe it’s in the hands of another person. Maybe we are anxious about getting a new job, or something we really have our hopes set on. Maybe we just need someone to make a decision that will go in our favour.
And we have no peace about it. We’re anxious and we’re hoping and we’re praying. This week I want to talk about how do we let go of that and keep peace in our heart?
This was the situation I was in recently. I was finding it very difficult to concentrate in my meditation time because I was anxious about a decision that I very much wanted to go in my favour but was in the hands of another person.
Well God is so good. He teaches us hard lessons in the most soft and gentle way. And what He taught me through this trying time was about surrender.
Surrender is the pathway to freedom and peace.
Sometimes I get so worked up and anxious about trying to work things out and I realise the lack of peace is not because of the problem it is because of my inner striving to work things out.
That’s when the Holy Spirit taught me to come into my meditation time and pray “Lord, not my will but yours be done. I surrender to the process. I surrender to the growing and maturing that you are doing in me. I surrender to what you want to teach me through this journey. And most of all I surrender to the outcome”.
Jesus taught us this so beautifully when He prayed about the situation He was in “Father if you are willing remove this cup from me” (Luke 22:42) and then in perfect surrender followed it up with “yet not my will, yours be done”.
I call it sweet surrender because it’s hard at first but when I give up my will for His, sweet beautiful peace replaces the striving and anxiety in my soul.
This is what I learnt letting go really means – this is what will bring true and lasting peace. We have to let go until we reach a point that we are no longer fixed on having a particular outcome.
Trusting God is letting go of having your heart set on a particular outcome. It is being prepared to go wherever He leads even if it’s not the way we thought it should be.
If we are anxious about something working out a particular way then we will never have peace unless that things happens. But if we can reach a point in our meditation time of being able to say “God I leave it with you. I surrender to the outcome because I know you work things together for good for me, your plans for me are good, you never leave me or forsake me, I trust that no matter what happens, you are good”.
True trusting God is not trusting that He will work things out the way we want them. True trusting God is being prepared to go with the process and letting go of our desired outcomes.
Peace and freedom come when we surrender the outcome; when we reach a place where we can say the outcome does not matter. It does not matter if it goes this way or that way because I know that no matter the outcome, God is with me, God is for me and God works all things out for my good. He does not always work things out the way I want them but He always works things out for my good.
You might be thinking but it absolutely has to work out this particular way as any other way would be a disaster – there are no other options. That’s where faith and trust come in. That’s where we need to learn to say even if the worst happens God will still work it out for good. When we let go of the fear we hold in our heart, release the controls to Him (because let’s face it we can’t do as good a job as God anyway) and when we hand that thing over and say “yes God you can have it. I trust you” that’s when peace comes.
And when we can stay in that place of being able to say “you know what, the outcome doesn’t matter to me” that is when it no longer has a hold of you.
Are you inwardly striving and in turmoil about something? Do you need to surrender to His plan, His will or His timing? Surrender the outcome. It will bring you so much peace if you do.
Praying this helps you this week. God bless, and look forward to seeing you next time.
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