Let Go–Let God
SCRIPTURE: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you [1 Peter 5:7].
QUOTE: Let go of what you think you know. Something amazing happens when you let God and trust (Tammy L. Kubasko).
Let Go—Let God. Four simple words, yet their power is often underestimated. These words, though sometimes spoken lightly, carry the potential to transform your life. When truly understood, they represent not just a phrase, but a way of living. Let Go—Let God. What do these words truly mean to you?
[please note there is more content on podcast-this is just an outline]
God created each of us with unique personalities, characteristics, and temperaments. I’m sure you have heard of the Lion, Beaver, Golden Retriever, and Otter temperaments. Based on which critter your personality represents; will determine the degree of challenge this letting go will be!
I know because I’m speaking from a lion’s perspective.
Lion: (Choleric/Dominant) Like the lion of nature, they like to lead and easily take charge of their environment. The lion is good at making decisions, very goal-oriented, and enjoys challenges, difficult assignments, and opportunities for advancement.
Beaver: (Melancholy/Compliant) prone to think there is a right way to do everything and they want to do it exactly that way, they are very organized and methodical. Beaver personalities are very creative, they desire to solve everything and desire to take their time and do it right.
Otter: (Sanguine/Influence) very social, normally the fun-seekers and highly group-oriented, loves people, and enjoys being popular, influencing, and motivating others. Less organized and hurry to finish jobs.
Golden Retriever: (Phlegmatic/Steadiness) a lovable and loyal friend, very sensitive, great at making friends. Do not like big changes, seek the middle ground, and pursue compromise between arguing parties, they look for security and stability.
To “let go” means that control has to go to someone else. What I’m suggesting this week is we allow ourselves to let go of things that would make more room for God. Giving someone else control is a scary thing for some of these personality types. To be honest, even giving someone more control can sometimes be a bit unnerving. Even if what we are doing isn’t working, it’s still hard to let go. Even if we desire to allow the Holy Spirit more control it can be a challenge to let go.
Sometimes not releasing control could be a habit, lack of trust, fear of the unknown, or even a self-limiting belief. I can only speak personally from the Lion’s perspective but I’m going to guess that for the other personalities, it’s not as much of a challenge to let someone else take control. The Beaver may have a little challenge because of their perfectionism tendencies. But the Golden and the Otter, I’m not sure this chapter even applies to you. You are the expert at “letting go” and letting other people do things. In fact, you may be on the opposite end entirely and letting people control too much. At times wish there was just a little Otter and Golden in me!
The thing is we can never give God too much control. However, because of your personality type, you could inadvertently be giving up some of your responsibilities. I bring in the personality types to show why some of us have more trouble than others letting go. Also to remind you to give yourself grace no matter which critter you are. We all will have some type of struggle around this control issue, whether it’s trying to be in control of everything and everyone or, on the other extreme, letting everything go and expecting someone else to pick up the pieces.
The truth is there is power in letting Holy Spirit guide and direct us, which should perk up the ears of the Lion! Remember the word “let” means “to permit or give away,” which means we give God permission to take an issue and help us through it. There is a balance of responsibility and trust, so just because we give it to God doesn’t mean we go totally into Otter and Golden Retriever mode. There still is a responsibility on our part to do what the Lord shows us do.
For example, when I couldn’t find work and wasn’t making any money, I had to learn to TRUST God that He would provide (not an easy thing for a Lion). But that didn’t mean I just sat around waiting for God to provide the manna. I continued to do what I could with what I had, searched out work, constantly worked on my thinking, stayed in the Word, and tried to stay as healthy as I could.
I had to let the Holy Spirit work out things instead of me painstakingly trying to make things work. I had to let go of my stubbornness and pride and let God make the way. I had to let go of my know-it-all attitude and let the Holy Spirit show me a different way of doing things (kicking and screaming the whole way).
LET GO-LET GOD: Sometimes out of silly humanness, we stubbornly continue to hold onto things that are causing us great harm or even not working. Thank goodness, God is patient, God is loving, and God knows us. He knows what critter/personality we are and what it will take for us to learn to let it go and let him be the one who guides and directs us. Little by little, if we LET Him God will show us what to release and what we can hold on to.
“Let Go–Let God” also means to be still and remember who God is. It means changing our thinking, letting go of the things that we think are best and allow the Holy Spirit to show us really is the best, guide us, help us make the RIGHT decisions for our God-destined life!
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DAILY ACTION STEP
Say to yourself out loud
I AM WHO GOD SAYS I AM
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FRIENDLY REMINDER: Take out your journal and write down your thoughts, takeaways, and progress for this week!
TAKEAWAY GEMS
- God sees the entire picture and knows what is best for us.
- Letting go and letting God actually gives us more Holy Spirit power. [amen]
- Our [critter type] temperament/personality may determine the level of difficulty to let go.
- We still have responsibility even though we allow/let the Holy Spirit guide and direct us.
QUESTIONS TO “THINK ON”
- Are you holding on to stuff? Why is letting go so hard for you?
- What are some things that you are holding back from God, things that you want to “think” you are in control of?
- What critter/personality type are you and how does that impact your letting go process?
ACTION STEP LET GO: Write out any fears, concerns, and limiting beliefs that you have about letting go and letting God be in control. Next, give them to God. Then burn or shred that list and let it go and LET GOD!!
DAILY SCRIPTURES
DAY #1: The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. [Exodus 14:14]
DAY #2: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you [1 Peter 5:7]
DAY #3: But forget all that it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. [Isaiah 43:18]
DAY #4: I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. [Mark 11:24]
DAY #5: So don’t worry about these things, saying, what will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. [Matthew 6:31-33]
DAY #6: The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. [Psalm 34:17]
DAY #7: Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. [Psalm 46:10]