We all heard the saying, “Let go and let God.” Easy said than done, right? For some, depending on life’s dynamic at the moment, this saying can usher in a sense of hope, peace, and solitude. For others, we can immediately be triggered by this saying because it’s a call and response that could take us out of our comfort zone, which might lead to some form of resistance. Letting go can give a sense of a Pandora’s box of sentimental areas dear to our hearts, like people, habits, time, money, things, pride, and most of all, our familiarity. You see, we are creatures of habits, and there are patterns that we have conditioned ourselves to, which have allowed us to function according to our own moral compass or societal standards. In other words, letting go and letting God can be rewarding or an inconvenience if it requires us to make drastic changes.
With this in mind, there is a constant tug-of-war between our will and God’s will. On one hand, we desire to let God have His way; on the other, we want to have our way. We find ourselves between a rock and a hard place in these instances. There is also this defining unrest within our souls with a buzzing alarm calling for help. Whether we want to consider it, we long for God’s saving grace and deliverance. Even though we want to have our way, we know it will only lead to a dead end because our struggles and trials sometimes challenge us on a sinking ship. Where can we go from here? Come with me on a road trip to one of my all-time favorite writers of the Old Testament, King David, and let’s learn how the Lord comforts him.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. (Psalm 37:5 ESV)
At the beginning of Psalm 37, we gather that David, in his distress, is being comforted by the Lord. Whatever he was going through at the time, from these verses leading to verse 5, we concluded that he was afraid, and God was restoring his confidence by telling him not to fear, with the understanding that his enemies do not have the upper hand. The Lord reassured him to trust in God and continue to do good, for David will enjoy and dwell in the land of safety. If so, David would delight himself in the Lord, and God would grant him the desires of his heart.
The turning point of our verse of the hour presents the term and condition. God needs two things from us to act on our behalf. When experiencing seasons of opposition and life storms raging war against us, we must commit our way, trust God, and allow Him to act on our behalf. You may ask what you mean; let’s dive in deeper. As discussed, we must be willing to commit ourselves, time, people, things, and anything in our lives that is entirely contrary to God’s will. Again, you ask, how do we trust God? We acknowledge, believe, rely on, take comfort, find rest, take residence, and, most importantly, surrender our hearts to the Lord. In doing so, God will show us that there is more for us than those against us. He will open the windows of heaven of protection and blessings that we won’t have room to contain.
