Letting Go

Growing up before the age of cell phones or even cable T.V, as a child I used to spend a lot of time playing outside, especially when I visited my grandparents’ house. They lived in rural Mississippi and a creek ran just behind their house.

After a rainstorm, the creek would rise, and I would often spend hours gathering leaves and small sticks so that I could place them in the stream. Running alongside, I would watch as the current carried my pretend “boats” downstream. Some of the leaves would get stuck along the way by a rock or something else that blocked their path. I would watch as the leaf was buffeted by the current, twisting and turning, as if it wanted to break free, but didn’t know how to let go. Finally, I would mercifully dislodge it and watch as it once again peacefully glided along under the power of the creek’s current.

King David found himself, over and over again, twisting and turning, being buffeted by the trials of his life. Through these experiences, David learned an important lesson about trust that allowed him not to fight in his own strength, but instead to simply let go and allow God to carry him in the power of His strength. Psalm 31: 14-15 records one such moment as David says, “But I trust in you Lord, I say , ‘You are my God. The course of my life is in your power.'” I love the way that missionary, Dan Crawford translated this verse into the African Luba-Sanga dialect, “All my life’s whys and whens and wherefores are in God’s hands.”

Today, let’s not fight against the current. Instead, when you encounter obstacles, just let go! Look up and allow yourself to drift into the current and float freely along the path that God has set for your life, trusting in the knowledge that you will be buoyed by His love and sustained by His strength.