lf you had my cell phone right now and clicked to populate my home screen, the below picture will be your current greeting. I don't know but it's so, so, so, very appropriate for my life right now. Don't get me wrong, it's not because of anything bad at all---it's, how do I say this, it's FREEING, it's FREEDOM---and a daily reminder of what's important to me!
If I had to summarize life in one word, it would be to LIVE. Not only do I want you to live for Jesus, I want you to live because this is your one and only life, and this is not your life's dress rehearsal. I want you to understand that you can't control every single moment of your life or predict every little thing that is going to happen to you, but you can control who you do life with--who surrounds you. When you look in the face of those who surround you, you need to know that they have your back if they in fact occupy your inner circle. If your answer is a shrug of the shoulders because you are not sure if they have your back, then you need an inner circle overhaul. Sometimes you and I both have to reexamine the voices speaking in our life. Are these confident, fearless, battle-ready, and faith filled voices? Will these voices help keep us in line? Will these voices allow us to be individuals?
I have come to realize that when I have the right people speaking to me, I'm more receptive to making quicker decisions, and I have the confidence I need to dismiss things that are of no value to me; therefore, it becomes much easier to let things go. Things that I may have otherwise pondered on day in and day out for weeks that I would possibly allow a root of fear to grow bigger and bigger in my thinking, and in the end I would probably not make a decision.
Earlier I mentioned two very important words FREEING and FREEDOM. Why do you think I used these two words? Well, I'm glad you asked, because letting go brings a freeing sense. You free up space for other things and people to occupy the healthy places in your life. When you can overcome the control struggle, you can become enveloped with freedom. I don't know about you, but I need to spend a lot less time trying to control everything, and a lot more time receiving the freedom to live for Christ. I need to be okay with God leading me. I need to be okay with God's plans. I need to be okay with the God-sent people. I need to be okay with the necessity to exchange out the wrong or growth-stunting people who may not be going where I am going. I need to be okay with all of this if I want to really LIVE.
Listen to me, you've got to settle this control thing. You are holding yourself back from LIVING. You're self-suffocating yourself all in the name of control. You're holding yourself back from experiencing life. You're clipping your own wings. You're stunting your own growth. I think you get the picture. It's important to me to be a voice of wisdom and experience in how to let things go. God has not designed you to live a life of fear, but a life of FREEDOM. The Bible says that he whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36).
Take a moment to just imagine how much better your life would be when you begin to practice letting go. Imagine having the right kind of people in your inner circle. Imagine having people who pray with you, celebrate you, encourage you, and want the very best for you. Imagine making quicker, wiser decisions. Imagine breathing in fresh freedom-filled air instead of self-suffocating air. Imagine living without fear that paralyzes you. The best of all is imagine resting in God's arms, because you trust Him to know what's best for you.
I want to challenge you to take a look at your list of phone numbers all nicely tucked away in your cell phone. Do you have the right people on your dial? Are they meeting the needs in your life concerning emotional support? What if you need to be encouraged---who do you call? Finding someone to laugh with can be easy, but what if you need to have a good cry or you're simply feeling afraid of something--who do you call? Is anyone up at 5:00 am to call if you need prayer? I'll tell you a little secret, if most of the people on your dial always want something from you and take more withdrawals from you than deposits, then you need an overhaul.
So now you know a little about my cell phone, so what about yours? If you were the one who was writing this article, how would you encourage your readers? What experience would you share? Does your cell phone have all the right people on your dial? Is there someone who is not on your dial that should be? I want you to really practice letting things go. I want you to experience freedom from feeling like you have to control everything in your life. I want you to go one day without being so predictable and let God surprise you. Learn to breathe in freedom and exhale control. We all will meet Jesus one day face to face, and I don't want you to have spent most of your life being afraid to take risks, because you were much more fearful of the unknown.
I pray this article has blessed your life. I hope it has some added value in your life journey of becoming a better you. I hope you can step back and appreciate the wonderful things that you have accomplished thus far in your life, and also give yourself permission to freely step forward into what God will do if you allow Him to do it. Exercise your free will in the right direction, so that you can get the God results you desire. After all, don't you want what God has for you?