The heaviest burden we carry is the thoughts that weigh us down. “…humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7 NKJV). Casting means letting go, so let it go.
It takes less physical strength to let go than to hold on, but in our minds, the hardest thing for us to do is to let go. But if we want to go higher in our faith, we must let go of the things that are holding us down and preventing us from going higher.
You are as free from things as you let go of them. “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (Colossians 3:2 NLT).
When we can let things go, they will no longer weigh us down. The crazy truth for us all is that it is what we hold onto that actually holds onto us. We are in bondage to whatever we cannot let go of, and will never know freedom so long as we don’t let things go.
The only way to let go of some things is to take hold of another. “I don’t depend on my own strength… I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead” (Philippians 3:13 TPT).
You can let go. There is nothing stopping you, and no power on earth that can prevent you from setting yourself free. You don’t need to be stronger to let go, but to be weaker before God, who can help you. If you let God help you, He will.
The more you let go of things, the greater your freedom will be. Isaiah spoke the prophetic words of what Jesus would do for us, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me …to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1 NKJV).
We need to let go of those people who make us feel so anxious. We worry more about our circumstances because we don’t really trust that God has us in the midst of our trials. If we’re honest, we trust Him more in the good times than when things are going badly.
Don’t overthink your problems, but learn to let go of them. Jesus taught, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?” (Luke 12:25-26 NLT).
The more you hold onto your anxiousness, the more anxious you will become. You justify your anxiety by calling it prudent concern, but by your own anxious feelings, you prove yourself wrong. Give God your anxieties, and He will give you His peace.
The more you can let go, the lighter your load will be on your journey. “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul” (Psalm 94:19 NKJV).
We need to let go of those people who frustrate us. Frustration is greatest when things are not going how we want them to. We say the Lord is sovereign, but we complain when in His sovereign plan we do not get our way.
The more you let go, the less frustrated you will be. “Get rid of your bitterness, hot tempers, anger, loud quarreling, cursing, and hatred. Be kind to each other, sympathetic, forgiving each other as God has forgiven you through Christ” (Ephesians 4:31-32 NOG).
We hold up our frustration as proof of how others are treating us, when all it really proves is that we have yet to surrender our lives to God. Every frustration that you hold onto stands as a hindrance to trusting God in your circumstances.
It’s hard to be frustrated about something you refuse to think about. “…Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about” (Philippians 4:8 TLB).
We need to let go of those people who hurt our pride by the way they make us feel. We hate being put down and walked on like a doormat. We protest the way people treat us and ignore the fact that it proves how proud we really are.
People can only put you down if your pride is holding you up. “A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor” (Proverbs 29:23 NKJV).
We think we are far more humble than we really are, and the proof is when others put us down. It is our pride that hurts so deeply as others try to humiliate us. The deeper the wound to our pride, the harder it is to let it go.
Pride reveals pride, and sin reveals sin. The thing we see so wrong in another is the very thing that is in us. “Some of you accuse others of doing wrong. But there is no excuse for what you do. When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things” (Romans 2:1 CEV).
We will never grow in humility if we do not let go of those things that hurt our pride. We think that if we let it go, humility will become even worse, when the opposite is true. When someone hurts your pride, let it grow humility in you.
It is hard to offend a person who is not ruled by their pride. “When pride comes, then comes shame, but wisdom is with those who have no pride” (Proverbs 11:2 NLV).
The strongest person alive is not the one who can lift the most, but who can let go the most. You know deep inside you need to let it go, so do it. The inner healing cannot begin until you remove all those painful feelings from within you.
It takes less strength to let go than to hold on, which shows that having a higher faith is not a matter of how strong you are, but how weak you can be before the Lord your God. “But he [Jesus] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).
I am praying for you today that you will humble yourself before our God and ask Him to help you let things go. Look to Him and be saved, and look to man and know that nobody can touch you when you are safely in the hands of God.
When you let go of everything, there is nothing the world can take from you. “He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved” (Psalm 62:6 NKJV).
Blessings to you always,
Paul Balius
I truly look forward to your encouraging words, and the last 3 writings have spoken to my spirit again. God bless, and keep writing!
Thank you so much! Each week I ask the Lord what to write about. More often than not it is something I need to learn. The Lord is so kind and so patient with us!