We have all seen the advertisements on television regarding a new app called ‘Let it Go.’ The characters in the commercial are struggling with letting go of items that they have had for a long time, and there is another person encouraging their spouse or friend to let it go. Then, once the item is uploaded to the app, immediately someone comes along and takes it off their hands. The advertisement gets at the heart of human behavior. We tend to hold on to stuff that has no use for us. Like the actors in the commercial, we make excuses for not letting it go. We believe that we cannot live without it.
We are not limited to holding to things. We also hold on to people, attitudes, relationships, jobs, beliefs, and evil spirits we need to let go. No matter how unhealthy and useless this stuff becomes to us, we still find a reason to hold on to it. We have become so comfortable with it and accustomed to it, we tend to keep it—even if it is harmful to our spiritual lives and our relationship with Jesus Christ. Look at God’s words through the prophet Isaiah: “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19.
God is trying to do something new in our lives, and we cannot experience it if we do not let go.
Unfortunately, these things and people that we want to let go do not want us to let them go. Do you think the cigarette industry really wants people to let go of their smoking habit? Do you think that an abusive spouse or job really wants to let go, when they have someone under their power and control, whom they can take advantage of and use? Those of us who find ourselves in these kinds of relationships tend to hold on for dear life, believing that we need them, when they really need us.
Some will hold on to harmful stuff if at the risk of losing their lives. This is not the will of God. Let it go. God sends us signs and messages to move forward and turn loose this stuff, and we often do not pay attention. God is trying to do a new thing. God will shake our nest, agitate our conditions, and put us in a position when we have no choice but to leave. There is no app to upload our goods, but we do have a loving Savior, Jesus Christ, who is willing to take this stuff off our hands. He will exchange what we need to let go for something better.
Let us experience what God wants us to have—something good, useful, and beneficial that will bring out the best in us. Let it go!
