“Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, & go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.’” (Genesis 22:2)
If I stop & take a backwards look at my life I see a trail of broken dreams, shattered hopes, & devastating losses. I have been known to cry out to God & ask Him with tears pouring down my face, “What do I have to let go of? Everything?”
The answer that comes back to me? “Yes.”
God reminds me of Abraham & Isaac.
I can hear Abraham asking the same question. “Do I have to let go of everything that is important to me”?
I so don’t want to hear this. I don’t think Abraham wanted to hear it. I don’t think a single one of us who struggles wants to hear we have to let go of even one more thing. We want to be told we can hold on to things. I mean, doesn’t God say that He will grant us the desires of our hearts? Yes, He does.
So isn’t this a contradiction?
No – not really. You see, we must first be willing to let go of everything, before we can gain anything.
I am still in the letting go part. I find that I want to cling to the things. I want to be cling to what is “mine.”
How ironic. Everything that I have, has been given to me by God – & here am I holding them as if I brought them into existence & they are mine, mine, mine.
Let go. Let go. Let go.
Yet – at the same time …. Hold fast.
Paradox? Yes!
Impossible? No.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)
Prayer: Dear, God, help us to let go of the things we need to let go of & to hold on to the things we need to hold on to. Grant us acceptance, wisdom, & courage.
About the Author:
deni believes that the only true way to deal with chronic pain & chronic illness is to bring them to the feet of her Lord & Savior. Her multiple illnesses (Celiac Sprue, Atrial Fibrillation, Ankylosing Spondylitis, to name a few) have taught her many things about herself & her Christian walk. It is her fondest prayer that some of her lessons might be helpful to others as they walk the path of chronic illness. deni can be reached at EncouragingWords@me.com. Her website is http://www.pathwaysforchange.com/Encouragement.
