When we cling to our past hurts and resistances, we prevent ourselves from receiving God's new creations. It can be a deep and painful process, but what does the Bible say about letting go? How can we cease striving and accept God's mercy? 

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!" (Isaiah 43:18-19a) 

These are the merciful words of the Lord calling His people to trust Him for what is not yet seen. The people couldn't even imagine a way through all of their sins and wrongdoings. Neither could they see a way through the oppression during the times. But God said, "I will make a way through the desert, and I will provide streams in the wasteland." (43:19c-d) 

God is constantly doing something new. Christ came to make all things new, and He's doing that right now. However, to receive something new, we must release the old. In the spiritual life, "release" always comes before "receive." 

But what do I mean by "release?" To release something is to be free from confinement, bondage, or pain. It's the ability to let go, give up, relinquish or surrender.

What Are You Hanging Onto? 

We hang on to many things: old patterns, worries, sources of value and worth, and ways of seeing and being. We are afraid that we'll be left with nothing if they are taken away. So we cling tightly to our stuff, reputation, and even our hurts and wounds. 

We cling to old attitudes of possessiveness, demand, and entitlement, all of which are lethal to our spiritual life. When we try to control our lives, consciously or unconsciously, our clenched fists represent a refusal, resistance, and unwillingness to trust God. 

Your hands are frantically working to save yourself, grasp control, and secure the next step, yet we're called to trust God with every detail in life. Nothing can be received from God until we are willing to release our clench-fisted approach to life. We have to open our hands to whatever He desires to give us.

Open hands hold absolutely nothing. They are a resounding cry for freedom. I get tired of carrying stuff. Is anyone else like that? Some of your hands had been so full that God said, I want you to open your hands up and receive whatever I want to give to you.

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God." We've probably quoted that verse 1,000 times, but have you stopped to think about what it means? It means "cease striving." One of the translations simply says, "Stop it."

What Keeps Our Hearts Cluttered?

Release is a huge part of the spiritual journey because we all tend to hold onto things. I say this following statement with sensitivity because I know many struggles with this form of mental illness, but in our hearts, we are all hoarders by nature.

Even if we don't struggle externally, most can relate to being hoarders internally. We all deal with a lot of stuff. And I want to say this, some of us need help when it comes to releasing certain things in our lives. We need an extra nudge. We need somebody to know somebody is there to encourage us when we are overwhelmed. 

Does your heart feel cluttered? Is that clutter weighing on you? Is it overwhelming you? Release your fists. Allow the Holy Spirit to come and clean it all out. Allow yourself space to be with God and receive the very gifts that Christ dies to give us, folks. Our lives and hearts are so full, but sometimes, not in a good way. 

We are full of regret, shame, and guilt. We're full of secrets, lies, and sin. We're full of worry, anxiety, frustration, anger, and pride. We don't want anyone else to know about our stuff because we're afraid that our insecurity and feelings of inadequacy will be exposed. 

For years, I thought my name was not enough. A lot of us carry around names that God did not give us. Names like Dirty, Failure, Dumb, and Disappointment. These are not our names. We must learn to release them and let God give us the names He wants to impart. Names like beloved son and daughter, delightful, and forgiven. 

Our hearts and lives are so full of the wrong thing, and as a result, we stuff our lives with things repeatedly to desperately prove our worth and make a name for ourselves. We meet more people, go to more places, and buy more stuff. All these things fill that void, cover our shame and hide our fears. 

A Better Plan for Fullness

Hear me clearly now. This is the most important thing I will say: God has a better plan of fullness for us.

Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life and have it to the full (abundantly)." (John 10:10)

Jesus came to empty of all the stuff that fills our lives. There's a big difference between being filled in our calendars and in our hearts and minds. Our schedules are full, but our hearts are not. 

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having things on the calendar. But if those things are a shield against our deeper longings for Christ, it's time to clear our schedule. On the other hand, if the calendar is a reflection of our heart, then we have a problem. 

God wants us to empty our clutter and for you to replace it with Him. Replace it with eternal life and God's perspective. That perspective fills us with the riches of God's righteousness, peace, love, and joy. We constantly need His release because it creates space within us for God to work. 

How do we release the clutter?

Two Practices for Letting Go

1) Confession 

Confession is recognizing and naming what we need God to empty from our lives. Then, if we ask Him and spend time in His Word, God will show us what those things are. 

This is the value of spending regular and intentional time in the presence of God. The Word of God is like a mirror to us because as we read it, it reads us. It gives us a picture of what's going on inside. Therefore, we need to be self-aware of our "stuff" to bring it into God's presence.

Some release comes instantly. They're automatic the second you ask. But some burdens and wounds are so deep that it's almost like giving birth. It can take a long time and be very painful! But don't give up because God doesn't zap you the first time. Sometimes God is tenderizing our hearts, so we're exposed to more of His grace. But, unfortunately, that prolonged exposure can reveal deep-engrained habits, shame, and wounds we've held for longer than we've realized. 

So don't give up. God will empty you in time and replace the clutter with something more significant. Through the practice of confession, we can let go of our sin and the guilt, shame, and remorse that we drag behind us.  

Because of the work of Christ, there is no reason to drag our baggage behind us wherever we go. We can release it all right now. All our guilt, shame, and regret can be cut loose and tossed into the sea of God's great mercy, love, and grace.

2) God Tests Us 

Now I know that when you think of God testing us, the Bible says He doesn't do that. But God tests us. Scripture says that the trial of our faith is as precious as gold refined in the fire. We don't need to minimize our trials because God tests us to know how to be authentic and genuine. 

You don't know if what you have is real unless it's tested. It's easy to say you have faith, but genuine faith will be tested. It's easy to say you love someone, but real love will be tested. That's how God makes it real in our lives.

Abraham, the Father of Faith, is a great example. 

In Genesis 12:1, God tested his faith. Abraham is asked to trust God by letting go of his past. "The Lord said to Abraham, "Leave your country, your people, and your father's household and go to the land I will show you"

The Lord told Abraham to leave his country, people, and his father's household so he could go to the land that God would show him. He was called to let go and release his people, customs, and country. Yet Abraham didn't even know where he was going! See again, release comes before receive. 

Then in Genesis 22:1-2, Abraham is asked to trust God by letting go of his future. After many silent and tearful years, his precious son, Isaac, was finally born, and he was to play a huge part in God's plan for the world's salvation. Yet God asked Abraham to give him up. 

Unless we offer up the most precious things in our lives, we cannot see the best thing God has prepared for us, just as Abraham could not see the ram God had prepared until he gave up his beloved Isaac. 

God wants us to keep nothing so that He can give us everything. 

Some of us are in what's been called a liminal space. It's the time between "what was" and "what's next." It's a place of transition, waiting, and ultimately, not knowing. 

It's kind of like the trapeze artist or flyer. How scary it must be to have to let go or release your hands from the trapeze bar to sail high and through mid-air.  

One writer says there is a special relationship between the flyer and the catcher on the trapeze. The flyer is the one that lets go, and the catcher is the one that catches. As the flyer swings high above the crowd on the trapeze, the moment comes when he must let go. He jumps out into the air. His job is to remain as still as possible and wait for the strong hands of the catcher to pluck him from the air.  

The flyer must never try to catch the catcher but is to always wait in absolute trust. The catcher will catch him, but he must wait. 

God is the Way Maker

For some of you in that liminal space, God says release your worries and concerns. Give yourself to God. He's already made a way. Do you trust that God is a way-maker?

God will make a way where he seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see. He will make way for me, and he'll make way for you. God always makes a way.

So I want to ask you, brothers and sisters, is it time to let go? What is the Lord calling you to release? 

Do it. He will catch you.

TL;DR

1. In the spiritual life, "release" always comes before "receive." 

2. We cling to old attitudes of possessiveness, demand, and entitlement, all of which are lethal to our spiritual life.

3. We must learn to release our shame, wounds and anxieties, so we can let God give us the names He wants to impart, like beloved son and daughter, delightful, and forgiven. 

4. God wants us to empty our clutter and for you to replace it with Him. Replace it with eternal life and God's perspective.

5. Two practices for letting go:

   1. Confession

   2. God’s testing

6. Is it time to let go? What is the Lord calling you to release? 

Related Reading

Who We Are Depends on Whose We Are by Rev. Paul Lawler

How Can I Know God by Grant Caldwell

Changing For the Better by Bro. Chris Carter

About Christ Church Memphis
Christ Church Memphis is church in East Memphis, Tennessee. For more than 65 years, Christ Church has served the Memphis community. Every weekend, there are multiple worship opportunities including traditional, contemporary and blended services