Willing To Let Go

Willing To Let Go

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.

Job 1:21

Isn’t it true that your money, property, body, spouse, children, and friends are good things created and given to you by God himself? Ultimately, they all belong to God and not to you. What if he were to test your loyalty by taking them away from you? What if he wanted to learn whether you were willing to let go of them for his sake? What if he wanted to see whether you would hold tighter to him or to his gifts? What if you became separated from your loved ones? Do you think you would have the right to rant and rave, forcibly attempt to get them back, or sulk until they were returned to you? If you argue that these are God’s good gifts to you and that you want to get them back no matter what the cost, then you would be making a big mistake.

If you want to do the right thing, don’t rush ahead without thinking. You must fear God and say, “Dear Lord, the people and things you have given me are good, as you have said in Scripture. Yet I don’t know whether you will let me keep them. If I knew that you didn’t want me to have them, I wouldn’t even try to get them back. However, if I knew that you wanted me to have them, I would do what you want by taking them back. But I don’t know what you want me to do. All I can see now is that you have allowed them to be taken away from me. So I’ll turn the whole matter over to you. I’ll wait until I know what to do. I’m ready to live either with them or without them.”