She is a mom, wife, and passionate believer that Jesus changes everything.
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Let Go And Let God
I first heard the phrase “Let go and let God,” when I was on a high school retreat over half a lifetime ago. It was a trendy phrase at the time, along with the then new fad WWJD (what would Jesus do) bracelets of the 90’s.
But something grabbed hold of me when I heard this phrase, and I really took to “Let go and let God.” But I also heard it for the first time in a ripe environment, because when I first went on this particular retreat, my life was a mess.
No, seriously – a mess.
- I was failing high school.
- In ninth grade I was kicked out of my house and had to live with my grandmother, I returned to live at home a year later.
- I was constantly on restriction for many, many reasons.
I just couldn’t get my act together.
I knew I wasn’t a “bad kid,” but I was angry, and had trouble controlling my emotions. The source of that turmoil began years before when my life was blown apart at an impressionable young age.
My father was a monster, and he brought with him a hurricane of abuse spanning from mental to sexual. Not every member of the family suffered the same, but we all were subjected to the horrific mental abuse.
Thankfully, my mother was strong enough to leave my father and get us to safety.
But it was in the aftermath of the storm, after we got away from my father, that most of the pain and hurt ultimately manifested for me.
I began my own cyclone of hurt and anger, spewing it upon my family.
As a child, my father robbed me of the experience of growing up in a secure and safe home. He deprived me of my childhood, which is no surprise. His parents did the same thing to him and turned him into the kind of father he was to me and my sisters.
However, something changed amid the cycle of abuse. God restored me…and is still restoring me into the child I was supposed to be, the child beloved by Him. Because the path I am currently on could only have happened because of God’s intervention and my willingness to “let go and let God.”
That all started when I was 16 years old on a retreat that saved my life.
Among all the wonderful and unbelievable things that happened that retreat weekend, one of the pieces of wisdom I came away with was the phrase “let go and let God.” Simple yet profound.
It’s what all good disciples strive to do – to allow God to be the One in control.
I don’t think there’s a true believer out there that doesn’t want to live in God’s power, truth, and love. We all want to take our problems and stresses to God and we want Him to transform them.
But sometimes, it’s not so easy to turn our problems over to God. It can be difficult.
It’s not always so easy to let go and let God. It’s because discerning God’s voice and direction takes a lot of time and trust.
Since we do not have God in physical form, only spiritual, we cannot sit down face to face with Him and have a conversation. We cannot read God’s body language. We cannot see His reaction when we ask for something or tell Him how we need help. All of this proves to be difficult in letting go and letting God.
Difficult, but never impossible.
Whenever I speak to someone about allowing God to be in control or turning your problems over to God, I always guide the person through the process of how to let go and let God. Over the years, I somewhat naturally formulated a process for giving something – anything – over to God.
I want to share with you today my formula for how to let go and let God. I came up with this after years of working on allowing God to be the One who truly is in charge. The One who I can leave my burden with, because this can be very difficult and messy.
So I came up with a little guide to help you see the whole process and what it might look like for you. This works for me and I always recommend it to the people I am ministering to. I hope you benefit from this. And remember the purpose here isn’t to perfect the steps of the process. The purpose is to connect to God and allow Him to take up your burdens.
How To Let Go And Let God – 8 Steps
If you want an explanation of the steps and process, watch the video at the top of the page.
Nothing worthwhile happens overnight.
I have come a long way since those dark and hard days of my childhood. A very long way. I am who I am today because of the journey of walking in God’s presence, power, and love.
I’ve seen what His healing looks like. Some of it happened quickly, such as my experience on that life-changing retreat. But most it took a lot of time, dedication, and perseverance.
Good luck on your journey of learning to give God all of your pain, concerns, and problems. He is good and He will lead you through!
Additional Resources
I have a detailed post on these steps that I wrote a couple of years ago if you are looking for more information on this topic you can check here: how to give something over to God.
