On Letting Go…
The perversity of inanimate objects is nothing compared to the perversity of human beings! Some have the knack of making themselves perfectly objectionable for no earthly reason. I was brought up short recently by one such individual and my gut reaction was completely unworthy of the Lord. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind in no uncertain terms. I knew I was in the right and he wasn’t. I could feel the anger building up inside me. And worse, I felt helpless and completely inept, unable to rectify the situation which seemed to be rapidly deteriorating.
So, out of sheer frustration (and seeking Godly approval to have a towering argument!), I opened His Word. Apart from a blaring silence on the approval front, the only word I received was –
“God…was over them.” *
Very brief and succinct – God really doesn’t mince words, neither does He wax eloquent. He goes to the heart of the matter and deals with the core issue. And here, I only needed four words to settle things!
In my frustration and irritation, I was forgetting that all I needed to remember was that He was above all - from the irrational situation created by human folly to the beauty apparent in Nature.
Of course I wasn’t satisfied with that! I tried to explain to Him that something needed to be done about this individual and all the problems he was creating. Yet, each time I received the same reply – “I am over all.”
Not the answer I wanted to hear but it was something I needed to know. Truly He is above all things. The amazing part was that once I let go arguing and fighting, I could feel His peace surround me. Of course I didn’t feel too pleased about letting things go (almost seemed like I was quitting and giving up!). Which neatly brought me to the second revelation! Just because I wasn’t fighting, didn’t mean He wasn’t. My puny efforts only resulted in frustration as I seemed to be banging my head against a stone wall. But once I stepped aside and allowed God to get to the frontline, I found peace and surprisingly, joy!
“…the Lord made them joyful…” **
Don’t get me wrong – allowing God through, does not involve fire and brimstone landing squarely on certain people! Quite the opposite, in fact. But knowing that Someone far far greater and more powerful than me, has the situation under control (however to the contrary it might appear) is a source of never-ending peace and joy.
* Ezra 5:1
** Ezra 7:22
So, out of sheer frustration (and seeking Godly approval to have a towering argument!), I opened His Word. Apart from a blaring silence on the approval front, the only word I received was –
“God…was over them.” *
Very brief and succinct – God really doesn’t mince words, neither does He wax eloquent. He goes to the heart of the matter and deals with the core issue. And here, I only needed four words to settle things!
In my frustration and irritation, I was forgetting that all I needed to remember was that He was above all - from the irrational situation created by human folly to the beauty apparent in Nature.
Of course I wasn’t satisfied with that! I tried to explain to Him that something needed to be done about this individual and all the problems he was creating. Yet, each time I received the same reply – “I am over all.”
Not the answer I wanted to hear but it was something I needed to know. Truly He is above all things. The amazing part was that once I let go arguing and fighting, I could feel His peace surround me. Of course I didn’t feel too pleased about letting things go (almost seemed like I was quitting and giving up!). Which neatly brought me to the second revelation! Just because I wasn’t fighting, didn’t mean He wasn’t. My puny efforts only resulted in frustration as I seemed to be banging my head against a stone wall. But once I stepped aside and allowed God to get to the frontline, I found peace and surprisingly, joy!
“…the Lord made them joyful…” **
Don’t get me wrong – allowing God through, does not involve fire and brimstone landing squarely on certain people! Quite the opposite, in fact. But knowing that Someone far far greater and more powerful than me, has the situation under control (however to the contrary it might appear) is a source of never-ending peace and joy.
* Ezra 5:1
** Ezra 7:22
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