To Release ...

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

(Psalm 27:13–14, NIV)

The practice of “releasing” is on my mind this morning. How do we release our challenges to the Lord, trusting that He will walk us through them? How do we hold the blessings and “extras” of life loosely in our hand, allowing the Lord to give and take those as He sees fit?

There is a particular piece of life I am grappling with. From a practical perspective, I feel a need to release something … but the decision is being left to me. Is it moral / is one choice “right” and one “wrong? Am I “releasing” it simply by holding it in an open hand … or is it time to let it go?

It typically feels like there are more questions than answers. We wrestle around what to do … wishing for clear direction.

The image of a cookie jar comes to mind. We reach in with an open hand, but once we grab that cookie our hand does not fit out the hole. Will we release the cookie to get our hand out? It may seem like the cookie is the blessing, but our Father in Heaven may have a greater blessing in mind.

Let us make every effort to remain squarely in the Lord’s plan and purposes! Let us make every effort to hold everything of this life in an open hand, trusting the Lord when we know His blessing and even when it feels as though He is pulling it away!

Pastor Ryan