How Can I Let Go of Something I Like that God told me to Dispose of?
CONVERSATIONS:
Following Christ necessarily involves making choices moment by moment to pursue some things and to let go of others. And in the battle for our hearts, we might feel that some choices are not easy to make.
Why do you think God calls us to let go of some things in our lives?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
What is it you think that God wants you to give up? Why do you think He wants you to let go?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Scripture challenges us to consider two important things when God calls us to let go.
1. God is worthy of our obedience
In Colossians 1, Paul gave thanks to God for the Colossians' faith in Jesus and love for God's people, which spring from the hope they found in the Gospel -- having understood the grace of God (v.3-6). Because of this, Paul prayed for them:
For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God . . .Colossians 1:9-10
Paul's prayer showed that living a life worthy of God is the logical response to appreciating the grace of God in ones life. In other words, recognizing the worthiness of God should result in the choice to live in a way that pleases Him.
How has God shown His grace to you?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Because of this, what does God deserve from you?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
How does realising God's grace upon you affect your ability right now to choose to let go of that which He calls you to give up?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. God works things out for our good
Why do you struggle with letting go of what God calls you to dispose of?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Letting go might seem difficult because we fear that we would not make it through. But what does He promise in Romans 8:28 if we make choices out of our love for Him?
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
You might not see everything in the horizon, but if you know in your heart that God is calling you to let go of something, you can trust in the wisdom of His counsel to work for your good.
What will you tell yourself when you realize that God wants you to let go of something you like?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
God's grace, wisdom, and commitment to our good make Him worthy of our trust and obedience!
Let's pray:
Heavenly Father, when I know in my heart that You want me to let go of something, please remind me of all that You have done for me, so that I can remember that You are worthy of my obedience and that You will catch me when I let go. You are wise in all Your ways and have my good in mind. Thank You for the wisdom of Your counsel. In Jesus name. Amen.
My Comments Policy
While my site offers visitors the ability to converse, I have a few ground rules so that our conversations will remain civil and courteous.
1. You must register in order to leave a comment. I don’t entertain pseudo, anonymous or bogus individuals. This site is my home (it has a Home Page, get it). I don’t let strangers who don’t introduce themselves into my home.
2. I love questions. I love them because a lot of times they are similar to someone else’s questions and can even trigger other questions from others. Questions also keep us all sharp. This is also why I respond to them as best as I can and at the soonest possible time. I believe that group answering benefits more people than private email exchanges.
3. We don’t have to agree. Debates are welcome. However, whether it is with me or any other visitors of my site, my rule is this: disagree if you must but keep things civil. That’s just how I run my home, and you are a visitor here. No shouting; I have seen it done in writing. No cursing and no insulting.
4. I reserve the right to delete your comments. Like I said, this is my home. I do not have an obligation to publish your comments. As a human being, you may enjoy the freedom to express your opinions on your own site but not on mine. To be specific, I will delete your comments if you post content that is in my sole opinion: (a) snarky; (b) off-topic; (c) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate my sense of decorum, civility or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (d) “spam,” i.e. an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services. You may, however, post a link to your site or your most recent blog entry.
5. You retain ownership of your comments. I do not own them and I expressly disclaim any and all liability that may result from them. By commenting on my site, you agree that you retain all ownership rights in what you post here and that you will relieve me from any and all liability that may result from those posts.
6. You grant me the license to post your comments. This license is worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free. By posting comments on my site, you automatically grant me the right to store, use, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, and distribute your comments in any format, including but not limited to a blog, in a book, video, or presentation.
In short, my goal is to host interesting conversations with caring, honest, and respectful people. I believe this clear and simple comments policy will facilitate this.
