Letting Go
Psalm 32:3
There are these twin trees in my neighbor’s back yard. Here it is in December and one of the trees is barren but the other one still has nearly all its leaves. When I noticed it yesterday, I thought that was strange. It has been windy enough and its twin has let go of its leaves. What is going on?
It made me think of the things we hold on to – long after we should. For example, there is this verse in Psalm 32 that talks about holding on to sins for too long, “While I kept silence (rather than confessing sins to the Lord) my body wasted away through my groaning all day long (3).”
But we also hold on to many other things too long that aren’t healthy for us or others. We often hold on to many things for too long: relationships, people, things, jobs, guilt, the past, certain thinking, pain and other things. And we often hold on in the face of weathering forces. On one hand, I could look at the tree and think, “Ah, you brave tree, stand strong against the wicked winter winds!” We do this in our lives by rationalizing holding on. What may look brave, stubborn or principled may be absolutely counter to what God wants in a given situation and when in reality we are just making things worse for others and ourselves.
Some other thoughts…
When we hold on too long, it affects us on the inside. Like the verse above, when we hold on to anger, hurt, resentment, and frustration it literally affects us physically, mentally, spiritually and in our relationships. Another way to think of it is from this quote I found a while ago, “We are as sick as our secrets.” Think of some of the things you know about yourself or others and how long you have been holding on to those things – it’s not healthy.
When we hold on too long, it makes it harder on us when God is doing something new. Not sure about the tree, but if the leaves never fall off, won’t that affect the new shoots emerging in the spring? And with us, we know that God can do whatever He wants to do. But if you have ever felt His gentle nudges of something new starting the pain comes from holding on to something current or old. God is loving and He is purposeful and He will accomplish His will. Think about the time it takes us to move on to something new because we are holding on too long.
When we hold on too long, it disrupts the natural order of things.“ For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven,” says Ecclesiastes 3:1 and as you know it also says there is a time to live and a time to die. There is a time for a tree to let go of its leaves – and there is a reason for it. Spring always comes after winter. Likewise there is a time for us to hold on and to let go.
When we hold on too long, it may be because we are afraid. Another reason we hold on too long is because we are so afraid of what things may look like without what we are holding onto. That fear is real. But fear is the opposite of faith. Sometimes we ask the question, “Who will I be, if I let go of this person, place or thing?” And the faith answer is that when you let go of anything, you may be transformed but in God’s eyes, thanks to Christ, you are always the same treasured person. Is this tree in my neighbor’s yard thinking, “If I let go of my leaves, I may never grow leaves again, spring might never come, or I might die if I let my leaves go.” Not sure; this of course, if trees could think J. But this inner dialogue probably sounds a little familiar to all of us.
When we hold on too long, we aren’t trusting in the Lord. Often when we are holding on for too long, it is because we don’t trust that the Lord will…take care of it, forgive, heal, start something new. Whatever “it” is when we hold on for too long, we are often thinking we know better – when we don’t. We forget that God wants only the good for us (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11) and so we don’t trust that letting go could be the gateway to something new, amazing or healing.
When I think about all the time I have wasted holding on to ideas, dreams (of mine, not God’s) and a of lot sorrows for too long all because I thought I could fix things, or make them happen or heal myself – when I should have just let go – it’s just sad… About as sad as a tree with all its leaves in early December with snow on the ground.
Amen.
Discussion Questions
- Can you think of some things in you life you are holding on to for too long? Could be internal or external.
- How do we actually let go of someone or something? Have you ever experience that?
- A big part of letting anything go relies on discernment (praying and listening for God’s will) – how do we effectively discern?
- How is fear the opposite of faith?
Living Water 