12/02/2020 LET GO AND LET GOD
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you says the LORD. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and hope. [Living Bible translation]
Ephesians 4:31-32 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen….Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another…. [New International translation]
Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge HIM, and HE will make straight your path. [Living Bible translation]
Summary
The Bible is full of the promises of GOD. It is about the lives of individual people and it is about how a nation of people, the Israelites, rose from nothing to greatness. The Bible is full of stories of people who, in faith, allowed GOD to have HIS WAY. Ordinary people had faith and lived extraordinary lives because they “LET GO and LET GOD.”
In Jeremiah 29:11 the writer says that GOD “knows” the plans he has for “you.” Think about it. It does make sense. After all, GOD is all-knowing (i.e., Omniscient). In other words, GOD “sees” all aspects of time---the past, the present, and the future. Planning is about taking action, engaging in a process, or designing steps so that some future outcome can be achieved. But not only can GOD “see” the future, but GOD also has a unique ability to “design” futures. HOW? Well, GOD, after all, is all-powerful (i.e., Omnipotent). GOD has the ability to “breathe” life into “dead situations.” Just think of the creation of humanity, when GOD “breathed the breath of life” into the first human. See, Genesis 2:7.
We can also rely on GOD’s plans for each of us individually, because GOD, unlike a City Planning division, or any other “human” organization, which has limited resources, limited staff and that may find itself, bogged down in paperwork with hundreds of other competing plans, GOD can plan for “each of us at the same time.” There is no wait time, no waiting line, no borders, no boundaries, no concern for “being overlooked,” because GOD can be with each of us, no matter where we are located in the world, at the same time. GOD is everywhere (i.e., Omnipresent). And GOD LOVES us all (i.e., Omnibenevolent), caring about each and every one of us.
So, GOD is uniquely qualified and capable of being a MASTER DESIGNER and PLANNER.
HE deserves our faith. We, therefore, should, LET GO and LET GOD.
But, so often, we don’t. Ephesians 4 provides some understanding, why we don’t just “LET GO.” According to Ephesians 4:31, we all have a tendency to let unwholesome talk come out of our mouths or take root in our minds. For example:
- When was the last time you mentioned you were “growing old” instead of “growing in the LORD”?
- When was the last time you “worried,” or thought about what you “can’t do” instead of thinking of the thousands of things GOD is capable of doing, or of all the things GOD has already done for you?
- When was the last time you completely turned some “impossible” situation in your life, or some “impossible person” in your life, totally over to GOD, refusing to think about it or even talk about it?
- How many times have you tried to make plans, based on “what you wanted,” “how you felt,” “or based on your financial situation,” without consulting GOD?
- How many times have you “thrown in the towel,” on homework, determined that “you can’t do it,” felt like a failure, decided not to work or play or try because you couldn’t “see” what difference it would make?