Letting Go
An article by Jenn Billman from the 7/13/16 Weekly Update
One summer when visiting family on Lake George in the Adirondacks, I consented to my cousin’s plans to visit the rope swing. Naively believing that somehow flying off a mountain on a rope swing would be safer than the alternative, cliff diving, we piled into the boat and headed down the lake. Swimming to shore and climbing up the steep mountainside, I began to question the safety of the swing and just how long it takes rope to decay when exposed to harsh Adirondack winters. Putting this thought to the back of my mind, my turn quickly came. I climbed the ladder, grasped hold of the rope, took one glance down and jumped. Emerging from the trees, I flew out over the lake some thirty feet below. Then, just as I reached the highest point of my arched ascent above the deep, I realized just how far above the water I was and clung even more tightly to the rope. Yet, recalling my cousin’s warning to let go or face certain injury, I let go of the rope. At that moment of free fall I experienced a rush of adrenaline and intense sense of freedom as my body fell toward the waters below to the sounds of my family cheering from the boat a short distance away.
I often think about this experience as I ponder my walk with God. Perhaps like you, it’s not the initial surrendering to God’s call that I stumble over so much, but rather it’s the continued surrendering that God’s call demands of me on a daily basis that tends to cause me to take pause. I take great solace in the story of Abraham and Sarah, who—like me—excitedly set forth on an adventure with God only to encounter numerous unexpected setbacks along the way. At these times, Abraham and Sarah often placed their fear more in the situation at hand than the God who had called them, relying on their own understandings and power to manipulate their circumstances to their advantage. Likewise, I have a tendency to do the same and, as He did with Abraham and Sarah, God often has to step in and redirect my path.
Why is it that in my spiritual life I often try to negotiate with God just how much and when I will let go of ‘the rope’? Whether it be what I do (work and recreation), who I am (self-identity, dreams, doubts), or who I care for (family/friends/colleagues as well as strangers in the marketplace), I tend to jump off the cliff willingly but then debate with God over when and how much I will release to him. What I’ve come to recognize throughout my journey with God is that He demands our ALL for His glory and for our own benefit. You see, if we let go of the rope too early, we land in the shallows, limiting the deep joy that comes from following Him through to the end. Similarly, if we refuse to let go of the rope, we miss out on receiving the protective benefits of full surrender and instead slam back against the rocks. However, when we reach that place of critical awareness that we’ve been walking with God but still clinging to our ‘rope’, we confront the option of letting go. If indeed we let go of the rope at this time, we free ourselves to reap fully the joy of life in Christ through total surrender to His will. I think that’s what Abraham finally understood as he stood on a mountain wielding a knife over his son’s tied up body (read Genesis 22 for the full story). Abraham had walked with God, but had reached a climactic point of awareness and was willing to let go of his ‘rope’—the very son God had promised him. In this critical act Abraham acknowledged that nothing—not even God’s good gifts—compare to God Himself. In this way, I’m reminded that every gift and blessing received from God—family, children, security, home, job, health, etc.—is to be relinquished back to Him. Only when we let go of our ‘rope’ do we experience the fullness of life in Christ. So, what’s stopping you? Delay no longer, take the leap and let go of your rope for the real adventure is about to begin!
