I'll be honest..."Let go and let God" is one of the most annoying sayings in existence, in my opinion.
If you love it and it is tattooed on your chest or painted in big blue letters in your prayer closet, I'm truly sorry if you feel offended by that. However, I must admit there are a few redeeming qualities and implications in it. So before you unsubscribe from my blog and spread the word that I am a hater...bear with me. :) I can see how this can be a helpful saying, in some situations.
Here we go...
Top reasons I like it:
1. We are prideful people and need to realize our inability to do anything apart from God. "Letting go" of certain areas of control in our lives where we want to micromanage our fate or blaze our own trails, and turning to God for direction and guidance, is extremely important.
2. There are times where we hold on to areas of our past (mistakes we've made, losses we've experienced, etc.) and don't turn to God for healing and/forgiveness. We need to release the grip on our guilt or or shame and rest in the arms of our loving God.
Tops reasons I sincerely dislike it:
1. Saying this phrase sounds really spiritual, but at it's core it assumes that God needs us to let go of certain things before he can help us. Let's get one thing clear: God is God. He doesn't need anything, and he certainly doesn't need us to open our figurative hands, let go of what we're holding on to, and let him take over our lives. He is sovereign, in control of his creation, including but not limited to our lives.
2. This phrase can lead to very irresponsible and lazy people with "entitlement" attitudes. "Well, I've let go now. I'm going to just sit here and let God take over...watch him go! He's gonna make everything better now! He's been waiting for me to give him control so he can do good things in my life." In reality, merely making a decision to mentally let go of something and figuratively "give it to God" doesn't guarantee that we will get what we want. It doesn't guarantee that God will even actively get involved in radically changing our situations. We are not entitled to our situation being changed, God visibly engaging in our lives, or our prayers being answered the way we want just because we have decided to "let go and let God."
If you love it and it is tattooed on your chest or painted in big blue letters in your prayer closet, I'm truly sorry if you feel offended by that. However, I must admit there are a few redeeming qualities and implications in it. So before you unsubscribe from my blog and spread the word that I am a hater...bear with me. :) I can see how this can be a helpful saying, in some situations.
Here we go...
Top reasons I like it:
1. We are prideful people and need to realize our inability to do anything apart from God. "Letting go" of certain areas of control in our lives where we want to micromanage our fate or blaze our own trails, and turning to God for direction and guidance, is extremely important.
2. There are times where we hold on to areas of our past (mistakes we've made, losses we've experienced, etc.) and don't turn to God for healing and/forgiveness. We need to release the grip on our guilt or or shame and rest in the arms of our loving God.
Tops reasons I sincerely dislike it:
1. Saying this phrase sounds really spiritual, but at it's core it assumes that God needs us to let go of certain things before he can help us. Let's get one thing clear: God is God. He doesn't need anything, and he certainly doesn't need us to open our figurative hands, let go of what we're holding on to, and let him take over our lives. He is sovereign, in control of his creation, including but not limited to our lives.
2. This phrase can lead to very irresponsible and lazy people with "entitlement" attitudes. "Well, I've let go now. I'm going to just sit here and let God take over...watch him go! He's gonna make everything better now! He's been waiting for me to give him control so he can do good things in my life." In reality, merely making a decision to mentally let go of something and figuratively "give it to God" doesn't guarantee that we will get what we want. It doesn't guarantee that God will even actively get involved in radically changing our situations. We are not entitled to our situation being changed, God visibly engaging in our lives, or our prayers being answered the way we want just because we have decided to "let go and let God."
"So Joel, what's the big point I'm supposed to get from this?"
Instead of "letting go" and "letting God", I suggest that we actively seek his face, dig in Scripture and go to him in personal and genuine prayer to bring our concerns, hurts, requests, anger, passions, etc., to him. In doing so, we will demonstrate an understanding of his sovereignty and control, an awareness of our complete need for him and his movement and intimate involvement in our lives, and honor and respect him for his place as the all-powerful God he is. This action will lead to a "letting go" within our spirits as we realize our inability to accomplish anything outside of his work in our lives. In coming to that recognition, we can spiritually step back and watch God work.
So...my attempt at reforming this phrase would be:
So...my attempt at reforming this phrase would be:
"Let go of thinking you're in control,
and let God's sovereignty be your encouragement and confidence."
and let God's sovereignty be your encouragement and confidence."
Does this make sense? Do you agree or disagree?
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