Letting Go

Commonly faced today among many people are addictions, anxieties, worries, fears, and all these things that have one purpose which is to keep you bound in chains to where you will never move or progress in life. However, what is the solution to these chains of bondage?
“Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7.
The word “casting” here means to throw/place upon. The Word tells us clearly to place and throw our cares upon Him. Interestingly enough, the word “care” is commonly associated with “anxieties”. Therefore, we are to let go of our anxieties or any concerns because God cares for us and will deal with them if we will simply trust Him. However, the problem many of us get stuck on is that simple letting go of it. So, what does letting go actually look like? Letting go isn’t trying everything you can do to free yourself, it is simply letting go of it. These worries, anxieties, addictions, fears, and all these concerns are all chains trying to keep us locked up. What are chains designed to do? They are designed specifically to be resistant to sheer force. They won’t break no matter how hard you try to break them because they are made to resist that. For these chains to break is a strength that our flesh does not possess. Therefore, if we try to break free from these bondages by our flesh’s strength, we will only fail. Not only will we fail but we will exert all of our energy causing us to become weary and worse off than before. This is what can cause people to give up and lose hope. The only way to be free of such chains is through God and His strength for He is the only one able. Many times, you will hear people talk about relying on God and His strength to be free of these chains; however, many people still don’t understand what relying on Him and His strength actually looks like. The Word has a perfect story for this exact issue.
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.” – Acts 16:25-27.
For a bit of context, Paul and Silas were thrown in prison while on one of their missionary journeys. Imagine being thrown into prison; what can any of us do having been chained and bound up like them? They could have complained, whined, or cried but rather they decided to worship God through praises. As these two men worshipped God in prison, their chains were loosened. You see, they didn’t try to break free with their own strength, but they let go of their cares and decided to focus on the Lord. They worshipped Him through their praises. Remember, worship is a heart-to-heart connection between you and God. Worship sets your heart on God rather than the distractions of this world. Worship will realign you with God and maintain that alignment that your mind will be straightened and renewed.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Romans 12:2.
This heart-to-heart connection allows you to focus on God and not the temptations and cares of this world. It has never been about how hard you try to break free or how much effort you put into breaking free. It has never been about what formula you follow to be free of anxieties or addictions or any of these cares of this world. It has never been about any of that because all those things point to the flesh. It has always been about letting go of your flesh so that you may focus on God renewing your mind to His perfect and acceptable will because that is what transforms a person. The real hardest part about letting go is letting go of your flesh because that is all letting go is. If you let go of your flesh and realign yourself to your relationship with God, you will care less about the cares of this world because you are too busy caring about God’s will and interests. Your flesh will whine and complain because it doesn’t want to worship God or spend time with Him. The flesh would rather try another random formula to break free using its own strength. In fact, if we didn’t have to deny the flesh to be free of these issues, then a lot of people would have been set free ages ago; but these problems thrive on your flesh. So overall, letting go is truly simple but not always easy for everyone. How easy this will be for you will depend on how willing you are to let go of your flesh for your flesh will always keep you chained and locked up. But if you will simply choose to worship Him, not just through praise, but anything that brings you into a heart-to-heart connection with Him tapping into that relationship you have with Him, then you will be set free. For worship taps into your relationship with God, and the deeper connected you are with Him, the easier it will be to simply let go of this world.