Today I Choose to Release...

Today I choose to release, to let go, to surrender my plans, my desires and my will to God's will for my life.
I think it's safe to say that most of us like to have control and it can be a battle against our human nature to release and let God have full control. I tend to not let things go easily. If I have done something wrong I can beat myself up again and again and again. I recognize this about myself and I have to work hard and remind myself to just let it go!
As I have been thinking about the idea of release today I had a thought and it had really made me think. To release, surrender or relinquish is act of trusting - the verbs - the words that put trust into action. They are all action words that bring us to a place where we are truly trusting God with a childlike faith. Think about the way a child trusts his or her parents. It is a deep rooted trust that brings so much comfort to the child. The beauty about being a kid is not having to worry about the pressures of life; there's no mortgage to pay, no work deadlines to make and no concern about whether or not your checking account will stay in the positive until your next paycheck. I have wonderful memories of being a little kid and jumping into a pool or off of my grandparents boat into my Dad's arms. All that it takes to convince a child to jump is the promise that you will catch them. Jesus tells us in Mark 10:14-15, "'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.'" We are called to have a childlike faith, a faith that trusts no matter what, a faith that jumps when God says jump because we know He will catch us. Psalm 125:1 says, "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever." Our God never changes, his word never fails and he promises to never leave us. Even though we know all of these truths, we still find it hard to let go, to release our lives fully to him and to live a life that is surrendered to his plan.
I have been struggling with releasing our housing situation to God. I have good days and I have bad days. There are days when it feels like things will never work out and there are others where I need God reminds me that he is bigger than any bank or anything on this earth. We are trying to leave our current home and are hoping to buy another one soon. And I feel like God has been telling me...let go! I was trying for so long to figure it all out, to plan things out and think through...if we move by this date, then this can happen. I have to remember that God has a plan and I have to release my plan, the money that we've saved for a down payment and my timing for God's plan and his timing. I was really having trouble this week and feeling overwhelmed that things just won't work out, but Kyle reminded me (because he was reminded by his very wonderful, wise mom) that we can't doubt in the darkness what God has revealed in the light. We really feel like God is leading us to a new home, but we have to step out in faith and seek God's will and not our own.
I know that Jeremiah 29:11 is a very common verse and when I was studying this morning I decided to read before the famous verse and after. I also read a little commentary to give me some background information. In these verses Jeremiah was writing to the captives in Babylon. He was instructing them to move ahead with their lives and pray for the pagan nation that was enslaving them. I was challenged by this and it brought about more meaning to the Jeremiah 29. We can't let life come to a grinding halt when we hit a difficult time, we have to adjust and move forward. We can't give up because of uncertainty and fear, but when we face a time of trouble we need to be on our knees in prayer, actively seeking God's will and then we need to move ahead! We have to release the fear, the what ifs and we need to move to where God is calling us next. Jeremiah 29:11-13 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'"
For it is when we release and allow God to take full control that he can use us in the mightiest of ways. He can do so because we are not relying on our own strength, but on his. So today, I choose to release, to put my trust in God alone into action!