Let go and let God
“For to you I have committed my cause.” (Jeremiah 11:20b)
Natural disasters. Health challenges. Family issues.
Are one of those the difficulty you or someone close to you is facing at this point in life? Maybe there is something else you would put on that list.
The biggest question is not what are you facing, but how are you going to get through it.
If there was ever a man who faced challenges, it was the prophet Jeremiah, the author of our verse for this week. Jeremiah was chosen by God to bring difficult news to God’s people. He was chosen by God to call his fellow Israelites to repentance for their sin. When his people did not repent of their sins or change their ways, God used Jeremiah to warn them of the impending destruction which would come upon them.
Think of how you would have felt and/or reacted if you were Jeremiah. Would you have shirked the task and declined to do what God called you to do? Would you have been knees knocking hesitant to bring such a message those who were your own family and people?
Our verse for this week shows us how Jeremiah worked through and faced what God asked him to do. He put the matter in God’s hands and knew that when he did that, he would have the strength and courage to be up to the task God had asked him to undertake.
Now transfer all of this over to whatever you are facing in life – health challenges, family issues, the natural disasters all across our country and around the world. Just as Jeremiah committed his cause to God and put things in God’s hands, God invites us to do the same.
These words remind me of words which Jesus shared with his disciples as he prepared to leave them and ascend back into heaven. Jesus had not only told them that he was leaving them, but he also had told them that they were going to have to carry on his work in his absence. Talk about making someone knees knocking hesitant. So Jesus reassured them “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).
Jesus’ words help us to understand that we will indeed have challenges and troubles in this world. When we do, he doesn’t want us to despair or doubt. He wants us to follow the guidance which Jeremiah shows us – let go and let God handle it. This doesn’t mean that we don’t give it our best effort or take the matter to God in prayer. Letting go and letting God means that when we feel like we can’t handle it or understand, we put the matter in God’s hands and trust that he will take care of us and bring us through the challenge at hand.