Letting Go to Take Hold
November 14, 2019 by Rosemary Flaaten
Filed under Daily Devotions, Personal Growth
By Rosemary Flaaten –
Letting go is hard for me, especially with something precious or significant to my life. It seems like only a few sleeps ago that I chose to let go of my first born so the neonatal nurse could take him to the nursery. Then there was his first day of preschool. As I walked to the parking lot, my arms felt heavy in their emptiness. My “baby” had left my embrace for the big world.
Tears dripped down my cheeks as I commiserated with a mother’s emotions as she described her sense of loss as she pinned her son’s corsage on his wedding tuxedo. She realized that no man can be held by both his mother and his wife. It was her job to let go so he could grasp onto what lay ahead of him.
This truth permeates our lives. We must move our belongings out of an old, familiar house in order to move in and live in our new home and neighbourhood. We must let go of the emotional ties to our old job and move with conviction and perseverance into new opportunities. We must leave our old life, ruled by sin, in order to take hold of the grace and love that God offers through Jesus.
“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13, 14 NIV).
Has God put before you a new goal for the fall of 2011? There may be something that has brought you pleasure or significance last year, last month or even yesterday, but today God is saying He has a new thing. “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?” (Isaiah 43:18, 19 MSG)
May we have open hearts that can hear and discern the movement of God’s Spirit that is propelling change in our lives and in our church. Be alert. Be Present. Let go of the old. Take hold of the new.
PRAYER: Lord, shift my focus onto the goal that You have set before me.
BIBLE VERSE: “I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back” (Philippians 3:19 – 20 TM).
As a dynamic speaker and an award winning author of "A Woman and Her Relationships" and "A Woman and Her Workplace" , Rosemary Flaaten's passion is to see people deepen their relationship with God and others. She lives in Calgary, Canada.
Having been an educator, I tend to make new plans and resolutions at this time of year as much as I might in January. I am eager for the routine and opportunities that may lie ahead as this school term begins. As for preparing to let go, I pray that in the next ten years or so, God prepares me to let go of my oldest, my son, because that seems very scary right now!
Thanks, Rosemary!