Let Go

“So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich” (Luke 18:22-23)

In today’s Scripture, we see a rich young man who rejected the Lord, and note that he not only diminished his own hopes for eternal life, but he also got in the way of God’s intention for the “poor” who were to be blessed through his possessions.

In fear of letting go what makes us feel safe in THIS world, we interfere with God’s plan.  His will for your life is not only about you – It will impact others as well.

The Holy Spirit does His patient work in our hearts and we find the gentle love of God moving into us.  Initially, we may decide that WE have to somehow do the work of God on our own.  But then we begin to simply LET GO and live the life that God has in store.  The Holy Spirit does the very real work that is subliminal and often never understood by the one through whom the work is done.  You can be useful to the Lord, in subtle ways not expected or seen.

Pastor A. B. Simpson said, many decades ago: “The Lord is often present in our lives in things that we do not dream possess any significance. We are asking God about something which needs His mighty working, and the very instrument by which He is to work is by our side, perhaps for weeks and months and years all unrecognized, until suddenly someday it grows luminous and glorious with the very presence of the Lord, and becomes the mighty instrument of His victorious working.  He loves to show His hand through the unexpected. Often He keeps us from seeing His way until just before He opens it, and then, immediately that it is unfolded, we find that He was walking by our side in the very thing, long before we even suspected its meaning.”

God has surprises for you and me.  What we have prayed for all these years may be in the circumstances around us as the Holy Spirit does His work, unknown to all but God Himself.  You or someone you never expected may be the response to prayers you thought might never be answered.  And seemingly “negative” circumstances may be the tools that bring us to our real need in life.

Take Genevieve for example.  She, like every one of us, has always needed the Lord.  And yet, there was also in her a lack of trust and a desire to be in control that became barriers between her and the One who truly loves us all.

Two related, very difficult occurrences in her life finally brought her to Him.  The first was the loss of her mother to cancer, and she wasn’t the only one who suffered.  Gen’s oldest son was devastated by the death of his grandmother.  He struggled in school and started to get in trouble with the law.  Compounding the grief she felt following the loss of her mother was the seemingly endless struggle that raged in relation to her son.

Six months after the loss of her mother, Gen went to a Christian women’s retreat.  It was there she heard the testimony of a pastor’s wife, which sounded very much like the difficult journey she was beginning.  She didn’t personally accept the Lord at that retreat, because, as she says, “I didn’t know if I could trust Him.”  But tears began to flow during the worship music and her tears continued during worship songs for the next year.

Genevieve began attending church along with her husband, Bob and their two sons.  She was looking, as many do, for evidence that God was working in her life.  Life seemed out of control because of her mother’s loss and the continuing rebellion of her son.  It was then she began to see God’s hand in her life.  She saw Him in countless ways, like His handling of their finances.  And their son was assigned a probation officer who was attending the very same church that her family was attending.  Her search and her tears continued.

The next year at the women’s retreat, Gen gave her heart and life to the Lord.  Deep inside she remembered the communion with the Holy Spirit she once knew as a child, and she saw God was there for her right NOW, within her heart and in the fabric of their lives.  He is also there for you, even in the “negative” circumstances of your life.

Genevieve learned from the Lord, through the pain of her mother’s death and her son’s rebellious behavior that you can TRUST in God.  She had wanted to be in control, to structure events and people in the manner SHE chose.  But God knew that to “let go” of her control was the greater need.  The shock of her losses became a tool that brought her to the Lord.  At Genevieve’s third women’s retreat, she discovered her life verse:  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Many have looked at those who seem to have become highly “religious” and said, “I don’t want to be like that,” refusing the Lord.  Others (often the same people) have cried out about their lives, “How could God DO that?” and have rejected Him, not seeing that what He does, what He allows, is intended for our good.

The “rich young ruler” was having a conversation with Jesus, as reflected in our Scriptures for today.  In Mark 10:21-22 the report of this incident included that  Jesus “loved him” and we see that the Lord  immediately responded to his need.  He told the young man to give up his money, sell his many properties and give it all to the poor.  Does this mean that YOU have to give up everything of this world in order to be made right with God?  No, it doesn’t.  Jesus was addressing the deep problem inside THIS young ruler.  The man had faith in his money instead of trusting in God.  And we don’t know the outcome of his life – God was not finished with him.  He’s not finished with YOU, either.

Gen had a lack of trust in God and a desire to be in control, which was HER problem; the one that was keeping her from faith in the Lord.  The rich young ruler needed to give up his money.  Both the young man and Gen needed to “let go and let God” take over.  We ALL have subtle (and not so subtle) barriers against the Lord’s work in our lives.  What are YOUR barriers?  Let them go and trust in the One who loves you.

Lord, please search me and reveal my barriers against Your will.  Show me that to “let go” is the key to victory – forever.  Let me trust in You.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchontheNet.org
www.BlessedHands.org
E-mail: Ron@FridayStudy.org
Tel: (562) 688-5559
PO Box 92131
Long Beach, CA 90809-2131
"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)