Let Go, Let God

We’ve all heard this at some point in life whether it was advice given to us, or advice that we’ve given to someone. I’ve said it many times but did not realize until last year that I didn’t understand what it truly meant to let go and let God.

A friend recommended the book “Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender” by David R. Hawkins to me last summer. I had no idea how much it would change my life at the time. As I read the book, so much of it resonated with me. A few months later, I realized that there were things that I was continuing to hold on to that I would have to let go of if I wanted to grow in my spiritual journey.

I was making a mistake that is quite common. I read the book, had a revelation, and then moved on and went back to my “normal life”. It occurred to me that to achieve lasting results, I cannot do the work once and expect it to carry me for a lifetime. Our mental and spiritual health is no different than our physical health. You cannot exercise once and become or remain physically fit. The same is true in so many aspects of life.

I started thinking about people who go to church on Sunday. The pastor preaches a powerful message, and our spiritual tanks are filled. We leave church feeling inspired; ready to go out into the world and put into practice what we just heard from the pulpit. It feels amazing. Until you step back out into the world and must deal with people and problems. Well dang. The tank empties quickly, huh? Well praise Jesus there is a mid-week service on Wednesday. I’ll go to church and fill up that spiritual tank again. Now I am ready to take on the world! For real this time! No weapon formed against me shall prosper! I am a child of the Most High, and all those other scriptures and affirmations we go around quoting.

I can only speak for myself, but I will tell you that for my life this was absolute insanity. It was like a roller coaster, and it was no fun. I don’t know about you, but I get motion sickness. I want to stay far away from roller coasters. Real or proverbial. What I also realized is that if I stayed on that roller coaster, I was not moving forward in life.

Think about it. A roller coaster is a wild and exciting ride. When the ride ends, you are right back where you started, and really, you’ve only traveled in an extensive and elaborate circle that took you from point A, well, back to point A. All that drama, just to end up back where I started? That was insanity. Meanwhile, the days, weeks, months, and years are passing, and I’m stuck in this same cycle. Deep down, I know that God has bigger plans for my life, yet I cannot see past myself, my ego, and life’s drama to take a step that will get me off of the roller coaster.

This is where the book became so important. I realized that of all the times I’ve heard about letting go and letting God, no one had ever taught me how to actually do that. Many of us who are Christians struggle with the notion of looking to resources other than the Bible for help. There is a good reason for that, and we do need to be careful to not get involved in something that may take us down the wrong spiritual path.

I prayed about it and what came to me is that the Bible is and will remain at the core of my belief system, but it is okay to use other resources to equip myself to live my life in a way that is pleasing to God. I began to re-read “Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender,” but this time around I took the time to truly study it, with the goal of mastering the technique of letting go.

I certainly have not mastered the technique fully yet, but I thank God that I am so much better at letting go than I used to be. The journey continues.

I think the song “Let Go” is a perfect one to share. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.

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