Waiting Gracefully: Let Go and Let God

H.O.P.E

(Holding On to the Promises and Expectations)

Waiting Gracefully

(Part Two:  Let Go and Let God)

O LORD, I give my life to you.

Psalm 25:1 (NLT)

Skit Guys: Can you trust God?---Click on this link to watch the Skit Guys demonstrate how we treat God when trusting Him with our lives/issues/circumstances. (We watched this in our Thursday Night meeting)

 

When you have a problem, you begin to think of ways to “fix it” or “do something—it can cause stress, make you weary, have sleeplessness nights, cry, and even yell at others…but if you give the problem to someone else, it’s no longer your responsibility or burden to “do something”.  It becomes the person you gave it to.  You also gave it to them because you TRUST that they will fix it.  God loves you so much that He is saying to you, “PICK ME!  PICK ME! Give it to me!  I can fix it!  TRUST ME!”  He wants all of your burdens.  1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.”

God is asking you to do two things:

1.    Surrender (give up) your problems COMPLETELY to Him

·        Surrendering to God means relinquish possession or control of the problem/issue

2.  Trust Him

·        Trusting God means having a firm belief in the reliability of His character and having a confident expectation He will do what He says

God is a gentleman and will never take something away from you without your asking. Isaiah 30:18 (NLT) says, “So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion.  For the Lord is a faithful God.  Blessed are those who wait for his help.” 

I think it’s important to point out that often times we fool ourselves into thinking we have given our problems to God, but in reality we never actually “let go” of them. He is holding onto it and we are holding onto it.  It’s hard for Him to work on our problem if we still have possession of it.  This is because when we are still in possession, we feel like we need to “do something”.  However, sometimes are “doing something” can be a good thing—but remember, not every “good thing” is a God thing. 

Proverbs 94:11 says, “The Lord knows all human plans; he knows they are futile.”

•   Definition of futile: pointless

Examples of our “doing something” can be:

·        Pray according to what we want, how we want it, and when we want it

·        Google/research our “issue”

·        Read and/or study books on our “issue” (more than we do the Bible)

·        Talk to others regarding our “issue” (more than we talk to God)

·        Declare and fast without the Holy Spirits guidance (meaning we declare and fast out of thoughts such as, “If I do “this” than God will HAVE to answer my prayer)

·        Pray and read the Bible…BUT with the thought of “I have to if I want God to bless me

Your “doing something” can lead to…

 Weariness

Bitterness toward God

 Heartache

Disappointments

Anxiety

When we give our problems to God, He still wants us to “do something” but they are different than our ideas sometimes… 

Examples include:

·        Pray and wait for his guidance on which steps to take regarding the problem

·        Worship/praise Him (ex: Hannah, Paul/Silas, Abraham)

·        Talk to other Christians but ONLY after seeking God’s guidance FIRST

·        Be patient

·        Trust in Him by not taking it back or “checking” on it

God’s plans for our life include prosperity, hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Who wouldn’t want that?!  But in order to have the life and promises He wants to give us we first must “Let Go and Let God.” 

Question:  What are some areas you need to surrender (give) to God?  What is keeping you from trusting God?

Two Areas We Might Need to “Let Go and Let God”

1.    YOUR idea of “perfect timing” (TOUGH ONE FO SHO!)

You have to let go of your idea of “perfect timing” and trust in God that His timing is best.
Remember just because you don’t have it RIGHT now, doesn’t mean it’s not coming. Imagine if every prayer were answered immediately.  It seems like it would be a perfect world, but what if parents gave their children everything they asked for as soon as they asked for it, even if it was good for them. (Example: giving them a toy before they are mature/old enough)

"But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and

have made the LORD their hope and confidence.”

Jeremiah 17:7 (NLT)

Letting go and trusting in God’s timing may be the hardest task, but it has the greatest rewards. 

·        It protects us from unseen danger (God sees the END from the BEGINNING)

·        It protects us from experiencing disappointments/heartache

·        It will take away the emotions of fear and worry and replace them with peace and security (you won’t be carrying around the burden anymore)

Examples of how others experienced heartache and suffering due to NOT surrendering to God’s timing…

Example:  Remember Sarah in the Bible?  She was promised a son but when she did not see this promise come to pass in HER timing, she began to doubt God and make her own way; this caused her much heartache.  Sarah was looking at God’s promise from her limited, human perspective.  Therefore, she had her maidservant, Hagar, conceive Abraham a son.  Soon after, Sarah became jealous and mistreated her.  Imagine the feelings you would have if your husband had a child with another woman, even if it was your idea…I yi yi yi!  God NEVER intends for you to go through heartache or negative emotions.

Example: I was uneasy and did not have peace about doing IVF in April/May 2012, but I went ahead with the procedure.  As a result, I had a miscarriage.  I was devastated; angry with God; heartbroken; worried; and it caused me to become fearful of my future without children.  All of these emotions were a direct result of my miscarriage which would not have happened had I went with my “gut” (which was the Holy Spirit speaking to me).

2.   YOUR idea of just “having a baby”.  (Embrace God’s plan of wanting to give you more than “just a baby”)

According to Ephesians 3:20, God always wants to give you abundantly and exceedingly more than what you ask for— You are asking for a baby, but God wants to give you so much more than “just a baby”.  God wants to give you His BEST.

Examples:

He wants to give you healing (so you can have LOTS of babies without worries) 

 He may want to give you peace and restore your joy so that you can share with others who are struggling

 He may want to strengthen your faith so that when other “hardships” come you have the strength and knowledge to make it through

He may want to restore your relationship with Him (let’s face it, having hardships can put a strain on your relationship with God)

Waiting for God’s timing can make you weary (spiritually and emotionally).  It can cause doubt, frustration and unbelief.  Below are three “pain killers” to take to help ease the “wait”:

1.    Speak and think God’s Word 

a.      Guard your heart and mind by constantly keeping God’s Word in your thoughts and on your lips (Google if you don’t know scriptures to use)

2.  Pray

a.      Waiting can drain you; ask the Holy Spirit to give you strength and peace BEFORE you become weary (Ex:  Why do you buy insurance?)

3.     Find a positive support system that meets regularly

a. The devil is a liar and always wants you to be isolated and to feel alone. 

b. The Bible says that it is important to connect with others having the same struggles so that you can pray and uplift one another

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone?  A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Matthew 18:19-20 says, “Ialso tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

Question:  What are some other “pain killers” to help in the surrendering/waiting process?

Take Away Thought:

  God wants to give you His best.  He causes things to happen at exactly the right time and your job is not to figure out “when” but just trust Him when He says it WILL happen.  There more you trust God and keep your eyes focused on Him, the more life you will have. 

Wait

By: Russel Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried.

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, He replied.

I pleaded, and I wept for a clue to my fate,

And the Master so gently said, “Child, you must wait.”

“Wait? You say wait?” my indignant reply.

“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why.

Is your hand shortened?  Or have you not heard?

By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.

“My future, and all to which I can relate

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me ‘wait’?

I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign,

Or even a ‘no’, to which I can resign.

“And Lord, you have promised that if we believe,

We need but to ask, and we shall receive.

And Lord I’ve been asking and this is my cry;

I’m weary of asking: I need a reply!”

Then quietly, softly I learned of my fate

As my Master replied once again, “You must wait.”

So I slumped in my chair; defeated and taut

And grumbled to God; “So I’m waiting, for what?”

He seemed then to kneel and His eyes met with mine

And He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens, darken the sun,

Raise the dead, cause the mountains to run.

“All you see I could give, and pleased you would be.

You would have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.

You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint;

You’d not know the power that I give to the faint.

“You’d not learn to see through clouds of despair;

You’d not learn to trust, just by knowing I’m there.

You’d not know the joy of resting in Me,

When darkness and silence was all you could see.

“You would never experience that fullness of love

As the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,

But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

“The glow of My comfort late in the night;

The faith that I give when you walk without sight;

The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask

From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

“And you never would know, should your pain quickly flee

What it means that ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’

Yes, your dreams for that loved one o’ernight could come true,

But the loss!  If you lost what I’m doing in you.

“So be silent, my child, and in time you will see

That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.

And though oft’ may My answers seem terribly late,

My most precious answer of all…is still…wait.”