Loosening the Grip

It has been several years since I first gave my life to God, received salvation through Christ, and began a lifelong spiritual walk with the Holy Spirit. Over these years, I have had moments when it felt like God was all that I had, and other moments, when I wondered if God was even there. Even still, seasons and phases came to pass in which my life was so full of STUFF that I felt like I could barely balance having a MEANINGFUL relationship with God in the midst of it all. Sure, I would say a quick daily prayer, but in my spirit, I always thirsted for something deeper. Something in me has always craved more. The threads of my unraveling heart have met again and again with a throbbing, all-consuming deep desire to know God more.

In the past year or two, I have found myself trying to fill those cravings with all the wrong things. It isn't that the things I've pursued were bad- it's just that they are all things that were never meant to fulfill me. Love, relationships, fashion, beauty, physique... all of these things are good and gifts from God, but when our personal pursuits and selfish desires fill our minds, use most of our resources, and take up the majority of our time, we aren't leaving enough room for all that God has for us.

Suddenly, I realized that I had been gripping so tightly to the things that I wanted in this life that I wasn't allowing God to move in and through me the way He willed. I had been asking God for things, but my own relentless grip of certain areas of my life had been hindering me from receiving them.

We cannot receive from God when our hands and our hearts are still holding on to other things. We must let go and come to God with open palms, laying down before Him our lives and EVERYTHING that fills them, not just the things that are easy to let go of. It's only then that we can receive the fullness of blessing and goodness He has in store for us.

"What no eye has seen, 
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived-
the things God has prepared for those who love him" 
1 Corinthians 2:14

When we choose to LET GO of whatever it is we are holding on to, let God invade ALL ASPECTS of our lives, and truly put our trust FULLY in God, we free up our hands to receive every good thing that He has planned for us.

It's hard to let go of the desires of our hearts. It is hard to rise up against the temptations of this world. Surrendering our own will to God's can ONLY be done because WITH GOD, all things ARE POSSIBLE.

​Since I have recognized and let go of the things that I've been trying to keep from God's sovereignty, I have been washed over with an overwhelming since of JOY, contentment, peace, and FREEDOM. 

What have you been holding on to?

What has God been quietly nudging you to let go of?

Does your life reflect the gospel? Do you live like you truly believe that God knows and has what is best for you? 

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28

Answer these questions and then, with a prayer of surrender to God, ask Him to take away the things that are keeping you from fully living for Him. Ask Him to reveal to you any schemes the enemy may be using to plot against the good things God has for your future. Ask Him to align your desires with His will. He is a good, faithful, and loyal God. His promises are always true.
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"Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:12-13