SO LET GO

                                          "God Is a River" by Peter Mayer

 Part 1 of I'M WHERE GOD WANTS ME TO BE, AND THAT'S GOOD!

 Psalm 131


 Living on the Mississippi in south eastern Iowa has shown me the power of this great river.  I have seen with the swelling of the spring melt and the rising of the flood waters how it sweeps great tree snags, boat houses, docks, ice shanties, damaged boats and other debris along and takes them far, far away down river.

I have also experienced the powerful and swift current of life as it tries to knock me off my feet  and pull me under, places where I feel I am drowning in confusion and fighting to catch my breath.  It is then that Christ becomes the rock upon which I build my life.  It is at those times that God is my refuge, my protection, my rock and my safe place.

But sometimes, God is the river, carrying me to new places that may test the strength of my faith and the courage of my convictions; places of obedience and surrender of self to the flow; places I need to be but don't want to be.  And how I cling to my rocks!

I have formed these rocks from my sin and I name them:  pride, stuborness, rebellion, selfishness, fear, anxiety, power, control, status and greed.  They are the stone idols of the false god called "Self," and they hinder the flow of God the river, forming frothing rapids in which I am battered and bruised as I cling to these rocks.  There is no peace and rest for a sin-weary soul.

 What a contrast this is to the peace and contentment of the feminine voice of  the writer of  Psalm 131.  She is as content as the child she nurses at her breast.  I imagine her cradled in the bosom of a deep and quiet eddy.  She is happy and peaceful where she is at in her life. Why?

She let go.

God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
    I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
    or fantasized grandiose plans.    
                 Psalm 131:1  The Message  

She surrended the throne of her life to God.  She gave up her desire to always be first at the expense of the needs of others.  She stopped trying to manipulate and control everyone else.  She turned her life goals and her agenda over to God.

When we surrender our will to God and let go, we're no longer struggling and fighting against God.  When we let go and go with the flow, it frees us to be carried along by God to new places and ways of being.

When we are where God wants us to be, there is blessing, grace sufficient to our needs and peace and contentment.

God is a river, so let go.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CHRISTIANS AND COFFEE BEANS

Image
1 Peter 1:17-23 John 17:14-19 Potatoes, eggs or coffee beans? Which are Christians called to be? We're going to find out as we explore what it means to be “in the world but not of the world” in today's message, “Christians and Coffee Beans.” Put three pots of water on to boil. When the water begins to boil, put some potatoes in one, eggs in another pot, and coffee beans in the third point. Boil for 20 minutes The potatoes went into the pot hard. After boiling in the hot water, they are now soft, easily broken up and mashed. The eggs, with their fragile shells and soft centers, are also changed. They are now hard-boiled. The coffee beans are different. While they look the same as they did when they were put into the water, they have transformed the water. The water has taken on the smell, taste and color of the coffee Jesus was not of this world, yet he came into the world to redeem the world by his death and resurrection an...
Read more

OATHS -- GONE WITH THE WIND?

Image
Leviticus 19:11-12 Matthew 5:33-37 Even if we've never seen the movie, Gone with the Wind, we're probably familiar with Scarlett O'Hara's oath. Framed by the sunset, Scarlet raises her fist in defiance and says, “As God is my witness, I will never be hungry again!” In today's passage from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus leads us into a new understanding of oaths and profanity. Did the character, Scarlett O’Hara in the movie, Gone with the Wind , take the Lord’s name in vain when she made her famous oath? “As God is my witness, as God is my witness, they’re not going to lick me. I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again. Leviticus 19:11-12 tells us not to take oaths, make promises that profane the Lord’s name, that is take the Lord’s name in vain. Scarlett’s oath is a profane ...
Read more

ENCOURAGING ONE ANOTHER

Image
"...  and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds...  " --  Hebrews 10:24  ( Amplified Bible) "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."  -- I Thessalonians 5:11 (NRSV)       To encourage means to:   give support, confidence, or hope to someone; give support and advice to someone to help them do or continue to do something; thelp stiulate development.  Encourage and building each other up go hand in hand.  Here are some ways we can encourage and build each other up which will in turn help us become healthy, thriving churches. 1.  Have high regards, great respect and favorable thoughts for each other. 2.  Be thoughtful and intentional when you speak.  Consider where someone is coming from and choose wisely your words. 3.  Be gracious.  When someone makes a mistake, be quick to forgive...
Read more