Let it Go!

Luke 9:57-62 (KJV)

57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Letting Go of the Past.
I know some Christians have a hard time letting go of their past. God has forgiven it so grab hold of the future and press on because carrying around your past will slow you down every time.

Look what Paul says in Philippians 3.

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13, 14

Remember what Paul’s past was like? He tortured Christians. He did things that were totally against Christ and Christianity. The Bible says he made havoc of the church. The word havoc means wide-spread destruction.

“As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.” Acts 8:3

Paul’s name, Saul, which he was called before he met Christ, was associated with “threatenings and slaughter”.

“And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord…” Acts 9:1

Paul had a lot of past to let go of. If he had stayed there carrying his past around with him, he could have never accomplished so much for Christ. He had to reach forth to “those things which are before”. He had to “press on”.

Letting Go of Relationships.
It is really sad when you have to let go of relationships, but sometimes we have to do it. When we are Christians we can’t do and associate with the things of the world. Sometimes that means letting a friendship go.

Ask yourself this question. How do my friends influence me?

“Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” Proverbs 4:14,15

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” 2 Corinthians 6:14, 15

Letting Go of Anxieties.
I must admit that I struggle with anxieties from time to time. It is probably more of a control issue. I like it when I can control things and you know you can’t control everything in life. That’s when those anxieties creep in. I just have to learn to let go of them and give them over to Jesus.

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22

Letting Go of Bitterness.
Bitterness is a hard thing. It can cause your walk with the Lord to stagnate. Look at Ephesians 4:31. It tells us to let it go – to “put away from you”. Not only does it mention bitterness in this verse but look at the other things along with it.

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:” Ephesians 4:31

I’ve seen bitterness along with all of these things. In fact, it can result in all of these things. Bitterness makes people angry. Bitterness makes a comotion. And believe me, bitterness has a way of causing some pretty ugly words to come out of people’s mouths. Bitterness is one of those things we have to let go. If only we would harbor kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness and hold on to that.

Look at that next verse in Ephesians.

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32

Letting Go of the Flesh.
If we are going to live for Christ, we have to die to self. We have to die daily to it and constantly let the flesh go. It should be dead to us.

“And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:15-17

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Some of us have a problem of holding on to the wrong things. The troubling thing is that we actually allow room for these things to move in with us. We roll out the red carpet and give them the guest room in our lives so to speak. Some of us have things we’ve carried around so long that we are comfortable with them. They are like old friends to us. We even coddle some of these things, especially that bitterness one. It doesn’t matter what someone has done to you to make you live with bitterness. You are the one that keeps it around and never lets it go.

No one else can let go of a bad thing for you. You have to do it yourself. Remember all those excuses the people gave to Jesus before they could follow Him in Luke chapter 9? They had things in their lives that they didn’t want to let go of, but what did Jesus say?

“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62

Have you ever read through Ecclesiastes chapter 3? It talks about there being a time for everything. A time to do this. A time to do that. Verse 6 says.

“A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.”

Only you know what thing or things have crept into your life that shouldn’t be there. It might be some of the things I mentioned above or maybe you are harboring guilt, hurt feelings, or resentment.Whatever it is, I encourage you to take care of it now. Make now that “time to cast away”. Make now that time to just let it go.