When did you start holding onto something with a tight grip?
I want you to sit with me for a few minutes. Silence all other distractions. Put away your phone. And choose to be present right now. I believe that God brought you here and He has a message just for you.
I want you to ponder with me the words that Mary spoke to the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:38.
Then Mary responded, saying, “Yes! I will be a mother for the Lord! As His servant, I accept whatever He has for me. May everything you have told me come to pass.”
I believe so deeply that many of us need to come back to this heart posture that Mary had. We were there once…open to the Lord’s will and hungry to follow His ways. We were childlike in our faith and held our hands wide open to Him.
But somewhere along the journey, fear came and we started to hold a tight grip. We started to believe all sorts of lies that grew into waves of expectations. And these expectations kept us from truly living; living fully the way God intended for us to live. These expectations were our own will…our will that replaced God’s will. These unmet expectations turned into disappointments which turned into weariness of heart, bitterness of soul and anger towards God.
What did Jesus cry out to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane?
“Abba Father,” Jesus cried, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will but what you will.” Mark 14:36
It’s time to let go of your will.
It's time to let go of all the unmet expectations and let God bring healing. Most of all, He just wants you to know that He's been with you the entire time. He has never forsaken you, even in your darkest valley. He has always been and will always be FOR YOU! And He truly wants the very best for you.
BUT.
A part of the process of receiving His best is letting go of your own plans - letting go of your own will. You can't have His best without letting go of what you thought life would look like up to this point. And how do we let go?
I think we really need to start at ground zero. We need to actually be able to vocalize what our expectations were and where our disappointment started.
It's taken me years to get to this place...this place of realizing that all I really needed was the freedom to express my disappointments, hurts and anger. I needed the awareness that freedom started with being honest and disengaging the part of me that was cooped up inside, afraid to speak.
I told myself, "Just be free."
I told myself, "Let go of your own plans."
I told myself, "Be bold. Speak up."
I told myself, "I am worth this process."
And I continue to tell myself...
That's why I write to you today. I need to tell you the same things I've been telling myself.
Dear friend, I don't know who you are and where you are...but that doesn't really matter. I just know that someone out there needed to read this and maybe it's you. Maybe you've been really struggling inside, more than anyone around you knows. Maybe you needed a key to the door you've been trying to unlock. I'm here today telling you that Jesus is the key. He wants you to let go of your will and receive His will for your life. He wants to meet you in all the expectations and disappointments that you've been carrying. He wants to love you.
So...let Him.
Grace and peace to you today,
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