As we begin this new year and spread our wings together, we’ll begin to feel the wind of the Spirit. The feeling of adventure, excitement, and fear may take our breath away. His power will pick us up and catapult us to new people and new places and new opportunities. In order to say “yes” to a fresh work of God’s Spirit compelling us into the lives of His people, we must let go of what and who we are holding onto.
As we open and spread our wings together, we must be open and honest about the process of change. Change is exciting and scary. If God’s love is the true source of our identity and security, and His love is compelling us to do the good things that He planned for us long ago, then we can’t hit “replay” or “cruise control” and do what we’ve always done the way we’ve always done it. We must trust our Lord’s loving plan for our lives. He’s charting out the path for us, and He’s inviting us to take His hand and find our rest and comfort and peace and security in Him.
As God is calling us to become all that He’s made us to be, sometimes we must let go of what we’ve been hanging onto. We must let go of “familiar.” We must let go of “comforts.” We must let go of “resentments.” We must let go of “anxiety.” We must let go of “people.” We must let go of “places.” We must let go of the “past.” We must let go of “self-restricting definitions.” We must let go of “categories” and “boxes” we or others have placed us in. We must let go of “my plans be done” and “my strong will be done.” Sometimes we even need to let go of people we call “family” and “traditions.” Sometimes letting go of “work” or “church” may be necessary for our work and worship to take on fresh forms of expression. Any of these bold-faced words may represent chambers of our lives that need released, renewed, restored, or eliminated. Take some time today and reflect on the words of an old, sacred hymn, “Take my life and let it be.” (Google search it if you don’t know the words.)
Here’s my bold prayer for the new year. “Lord, help us to cling to you with all we have and with all we are. May we feel so secure in Your love that we let go of all that binds and hinders us. Please daily define our thoughts, our rhythms, our pace, and our paths. Take us deeper into the life of Your Spirit, for into Your Hands we entrust our spirit. Surrendered. Yielded. Guided. Set us on fire with Your love. Please define who, what, and where we are to daily invest our lives. Help us to invest more fully in the lives of our family members and our friends. Help us to see our workplaces as Your mission fields. Help us to love our enemies and those who are very different from us, for we all bear Your Image. May we reflect You well to the world that desperately needs You. May we cling to what is good, and take action to improve what’s wrong. Through the power of the Holy Spirit working above, in, and through us, help us to confront by creating what’s missing and needed. In Jesus’ Name we ask and pray. Amen.”
What is God inviting you to hang onto and invest it?
What is God inviting you to let go of?
What must you let go of to follow and obey Christ?