Letting Go

Letting go of control is one of the most difficult things we can do. But the moment of surrender is precisely where God meets us. God never accomplished anything through control, always invitation. He can't accomplish much in our lives if we are unwilling to give up our need to control things. We act as if it really is our life to begin with and as if we have control over the laws of nature! Control is really just an illusion anyway. Parents think they can control a child's behavior and in turn the child rebels. Dictators think they can control a whole country until they are themselves overthrown. The effects of giving into this illusion are devastating. The Lord invites us to let go of our need to control and we must practice this daily if we are to experience lasting peace and if we are to become perfected in a trusting relationship with Him.

If God is about surrender and if He in fact has ultimate control over the universe, how do we let go? I think it is both an act of the mind and will. We have to say goodbye and mean it. The things we hold on to might rear their ugly head from time to time, but then we must say goodbye again...

...and again.

Scripture says, "Resist the devil and he will flee". We must resist the urge to control our lives and the lives of others. It's not as if this works well for any of us anyway.

Here's a little song I wrote, short and sweet, about saying goodbye. This goodbye is in the context of a relationship, but there are so many things we can really say goodbye to and we will be much better off in the end for it...


Waving Goodbye

The dust is settling
Time is frozen
I’m standing outside waving goodbye

You had a hold on me
You really had a hold on me
I’m standing outside waving goodbye

I’ll forgive you ‘cause I’ve got to
Though I’ll never forget
I will choose to live a life with no regrets, no regrets

You’re easy to hold onto
Though I am really free
To let it all go, let it all go

I still want to love you
But there’s not enough room
To love another if I’m still holding on to you

The dust is settling
Time is frozen
I’m standing outside waving goodbye