Know when to let go
A few months ago I found myself in a situation common to most young adults. Some find themselves in this situation earlier than I did while others go through it at a later stage in their life. As a young adult (maybe an eligible young adult), I set out on the quest for love. No, not philia love (a type of love that is felt among friends who’ve endured hard times together) but one which surpassed that. I in all honesty believed I could get whoever I wanted. Not only did I believe this, I had good (or so I thought) justification to back up my belief. One, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). What a way to coin the word of God to justify my desires. Two, I believed all I needed to do was say the right words, knowing fully well that ladies are moved by what they hear. In addition to those two, I had read about the five love languages by Gary Chapman (I strongly advise you to read this book) and the importance of speakings other people's love language to them. It is one of the easiest ways to reap love in return. I have tried it on a few friends and it worked!! Now you understand why I had such confidence. My arsenal was well loaded, or so I believed.
As I set out on this journey, like every young person, I had some specification of which I wasn't going to compromise. I wish I could share all with you but that wouldn't be a good strategy considering my status as of now. I will be gracious enough to share one with you. She has to be a child of God!! i.e she must have accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and savior. I'm sure you knew that already so my being gracious in telling you one of my specifications wasn't really helpful. Sorry; maybe you will get something else from me next time. Anyway, surprisingly enough, it didn't take too long before I found someone (I was tempted to write "before I caught a fish" like most young adults will say) who met a good percentage of my specifications. We, young adults, tend to have this preconceived notion that there aren't a lot of godly ladies or men out there anymore but it will amaze you to know that there are more than quite a few out there. You might disagree, of which you have every right to do, if you are looking for Jesus in a lady or in a guy. Sometimes we seek perfection in humans and forget that no one individual is perfect. God demonstrated this to us very early by creating Eve. When He created man, He did so with the intention of making man like Himself. We know God is perfect (Matthew 5:48), hence He made us to be perfect. It is no mistake that even before Eve was introduced to the world, God already had her in His plans to be the piece that will complete Adam's perfection and vice versa.
As a young adult, if you are in search of a perfect guy or lady then you must surely have (or pray for) the spirit of perseverance, patience, and long-suffering. You just might wait till Jesus returns. Perfection is achieved, in the context of marriage, only when two people (male and female) destined by God, come together in holy matrimony.
I got overly attracted to a lady and immediately unleashed my arsenal on her. Oh man, I must have been very good (not saying this in a prideful manner - nothing to be proud of here) because it didn't take long before we started talking seriously (I don't like to use the word "dating"). After a few months, which went great, I realized it wasn't God's plan. Every child of God knows when something they are doing or a journey they are on isn't God's plan (Please feel free to reach out to me if you will like to have a conversation on this topic). Knowing this, the challenge was deciding whether I wanted to let go myself or let God do it for me? I have experienced the latter and it wasn't pleasant. Definitely not one which I want to ever experience again. With this in mind, I summoned up the courage and ended the relationship. It wasn't the easiest or most fun thing to do but it had to be done. I had to let go.
Knowing when to let go is one of the biggest obstacles we as humans, regardless of age, race, or philosophical differences, have to face as we journey through life. Knowing when to let go of pursuing that degree or job for a more fulfilling one, knowing when to let go of junk food and ice cream (note to self) for healthier food, knowing when to let go of an abusive relationship for a God-centered relationship which brings joy and happiness, knowing when to let go of a sinful life for a life of obedience to God's word, amongst several others, are inevitable during our life journey. Remember Pharaoh? Even he was faced with that obstacle. He didn't have to wait to lose a child before knowing to let go of the Israelites. Abraham had to let go of his country, people, and father's household so God's plan for his life could come into fruition.
The truth is, letting go of those things we know aren't what God wants us to hold onto can be difficult but letting them go early will be very beneficial to us in the long run. Again I repeat, it is surely not easy to let go but it is doable. Just like everyone else, there are things I need to let go of myself and I know I will let go of them very soon by God's grace.
The question then is, are you willing to let go today? I am unsure of what God is asking you to let go but my prayer is that He will give you the strength and grace to let them all go today. I look forward to your testimonies.
As I set out on this journey, like every young person, I had some specification of which I wasn't going to compromise. I wish I could share all with you but that wouldn't be a good strategy considering my status as of now. I will be gracious enough to share one with you. She has to be a child of God!! i.e she must have accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and savior. I'm sure you knew that already so my being gracious in telling you one of my specifications wasn't really helpful. Sorry; maybe you will get something else from me next time. Anyway, surprisingly enough, it didn't take too long before I found someone (I was tempted to write "before I caught a fish" like most young adults will say) who met a good percentage of my specifications. We, young adults, tend to have this preconceived notion that there aren't a lot of godly ladies or men out there anymore but it will amaze you to know that there are more than quite a few out there. You might disagree, of which you have every right to do, if you are looking for Jesus in a lady or in a guy. Sometimes we seek perfection in humans and forget that no one individual is perfect. God demonstrated this to us very early by creating Eve. When He created man, He did so with the intention of making man like Himself. We know God is perfect (Matthew 5:48), hence He made us to be perfect. It is no mistake that even before Eve was introduced to the world, God already had her in His plans to be the piece that will complete Adam's perfection and vice versa.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:27)
As a young adult, if you are in search of a perfect guy or lady then you must surely have (or pray for) the spirit of perseverance, patience, and long-suffering. You just might wait till Jesus returns. Perfection is achieved, in the context of marriage, only when two people (male and female) destined by God, come together in holy matrimony.
I got overly attracted to a lady and immediately unleashed my arsenal on her. Oh man, I must have been very good (not saying this in a prideful manner - nothing to be proud of here) because it didn't take long before we started talking seriously (I don't like to use the word "dating"). After a few months, which went great, I realized it wasn't God's plan. Every child of God knows when something they are doing or a journey they are on isn't God's plan (Please feel free to reach out to me if you will like to have a conversation on this topic). Knowing this, the challenge was deciding whether I wanted to let go myself or let God do it for me? I have experienced the latter and it wasn't pleasant. Definitely not one which I want to ever experience again. With this in mind, I summoned up the courage and ended the relationship. It wasn't the easiest or most fun thing to do but it had to be done. I had to let go.
Knowing when to let go is one of the biggest obstacles we as humans, regardless of age, race, or philosophical differences, have to face as we journey through life. Knowing when to let go of pursuing that degree or job for a more fulfilling one, knowing when to let go of junk food and ice cream (note to self) for healthier food, knowing when to let go of an abusive relationship for a God-centered relationship which brings joy and happiness, knowing when to let go of a sinful life for a life of obedience to God's word, amongst several others, are inevitable during our life journey. Remember Pharaoh? Even he was faced with that obstacle. He didn't have to wait to lose a child before knowing to let go of the Israelites. Abraham had to let go of his country, people, and father's household so God's plan for his life could come into fruition.
The truth is, letting go of those things we know aren't what God wants us to hold onto can be difficult but letting them go early will be very beneficial to us in the long run. Again I repeat, it is surely not easy to let go but it is doable. Just like everyone else, there are things I need to let go of myself and I know I will let go of them very soon by God's grace.
The question then is, are you willing to let go today? I am unsure of what God is asking you to let go but my prayer is that He will give you the strength and grace to let them all go today. I look forward to your testimonies.
Thanks for sharing this. I have been in a similar situation like this. Like you said it's really difficult to let go but we need not to be adamant and loose things like Pharaoh did. We need to take heed when those caution are been thrown at us. We need to know that letting go is to our own full advantage, He has got the best reasons for making us do that. I pray our understanding would be more opened to see the necessity of letting go.
ReplyDeleteAmen. Thanks Victoria. I hope you will share with your friends to encourage and challenge them also.
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