Let Go & Let God!
“By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation,
(The Psalms 65: 5-8 NASB)
You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;
Who establishes the mountains by His strength,
Being girded with might;
Who stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples,
They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.”
Do we do for God, each day?
I do not know if you had to lean back, pushing away from the sting of that question as I did, but
- Do we do as we should, following as we should—for the One Who Is ENOUGH? OR
- Do we selfishly plan out our days, filling our calendars with our plans, asking God to bless our days (aka meaning: God, please work out all the details so that I can do this or do that—those things we wish to do)?
Ouch!
My toes are stomped on here again with these convicting questions.
I challenge us right now. Take out your calendars (electronic phone calendar or wall-hanging one) and read the things you have scheduled to accomplish today, tomorrow, the rest of this week & even this month.
- Do we have room for God?
- Do we have space for those things that the Spirit of God will lead us to do?
May we each be convicted by God’s Holy Spirit to Let Go & Let God have His way in our lives, for we serve a mighty and awesome God who—
- Brings salvation.
- Created the mountains & the sea.
- Calms the storms on the sea & Brings Peace to all.
- Causes each day to begin (dawn) and speaks to the sun, telling it when to set (dusk).
“They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; . . .”
(The Psalms 65: 8a NASB)
It is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY who—
- Fills the springs, creaks & rivers with His rain.
- Makes the way for the seeds to grow within His dirt.
- Blesses the people He created with food, year-after-year.
- Causes even the hills, the meadows, the valleys & the rocks to cry out praises to Him when the people refrain.
“They shout for joy, yes, they sing.”
(The Psalms 65: 13b NASB)
This morning, I am reminded of the truth—Everything belongs to the LORD, even you and me!
As we are reminded Who is our Creator, Sustainer, Provider, may we ask ourselves:
- Do we resist the change He brings in and to us?
- Do we thrash about, fighting back, resistant?
- Do we want only what we want—rather than what God wants us to be?
- Do we stubbornly push away from His gentle hands guiding our lives?
“Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens,
(Deuteronomy 10: 14-16 NASB)
the earth and all that is in it.
Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them,
and He chose their descendants after them,
even you above all peoples,
as it is this day.
So circumcise your heart,
and stiffen your neck no longer.”
Isn’t it time we Let Go & Let God—have His way in us?!
Rather than what we want, would it not be better to strive toward what God wants for us?!
What if we calmly & trustingly replied: “Yes, LORD.”
A circumcised heart is OPEN, WILLING, PLIABLE & MALLEABLE—ONE THAT TRUSTS GOD!
Right here. Right now. There is a melody, one we might just need to hear. Find your earbuds and place them in your ears. Find the song “Don’t Let Me Forget” by Ben Fuller. Really listen, undistracted, not absentminded, to the lyrics, to the words.
- Allow the Lord to speak to our wayward, resistant hearts through this song.
- Allow the Lord to bring us to our knees & recall HIS MERCIFUL GRACE!
“Therefore” reflects a change of direction, a step forward, recalling what came before as one walks forward in the newness of God’s salvation. Notice how the LORD allowed His servant Moses to write these words about Jacob, who the LORD renamed Israel—
“So [therefore]
(Deuteronomy 10: 16-22 NASB)
circumcise your heart,
and stiffen your neck no longer.
For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords,
the great,
the mighty,
and the awesome God
who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.
He executes justice for the orphan and the widow,
and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.
So show your love for the alien,
for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
You shall fear the LORD your God;
you shall serve Him and cling to Him,
and you shall swear by His name.
He is your praise and He is your God,
who has done these great and awesome things
for you
which your eyes have seen.
Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all,
and now the LORD your God has made you
as numerous as the stars of heaven.”
May we who believe—
TRUST GOD—
for we are covered by the precious blood of JESUS!
May we who believe—
TRUST GOD—
using our God-given talents & spiritual gifts to honor & glorify GOD!
May we who believe—
TRUST GOD—
with our today & our tomorrow & our calendars, for we belong to the LORD!
May we who believe—
TRUST GOD—
helping others who do not believe see JESUS!
- For God knows our destiny & how best to get us there.
- For we each have a limited opportunity to plant seeds of FAITH—HOPE—& LOVE.
We can have “all our spiritual life” together, thinking we’re good to go home to heaven—AND STILL NOT MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD THAT JESUS CALLS US TO MAKE!
JESUS calls us.
JESUS saves us.
JESUS makes us.
JESUS sends us out into His harvest fields.
- We are called to work, to labor each day, in God’s kingdom.
- We are sent into this dark world to shine the light of JESUS!
“But prove yourselves doers of the word,
(The Letter of James 1: 22 & 26-27 NASB)
and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
. . .
If anyone thinks himself to be religious,
and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart,
this man’s religion is worthless.
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”