You Can Let Go

I find God speaks to me in the strangest ways, at the most unexpected times, whispering through His megaphone. And coincidentally, on "Father's" Day, my heavenly Father decided to speak to me through my own voice...with His words.

It was on a Rope Course. I watched...for obvious reasons (lol)...who does this?--My husband and our sons. But something happened that I didn't expect. And when God showed up...when He spoke, I KNOW they are words that YOU need to hear too.

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It was our Bodie, age 7...little guy. Legs barely long enough, arms not quite able to reach...but he wanted to do it...and of course, we encouraged him. But he was on his own.

When you're on the rope course, you can't be close to each other, so he was by himself, and I watched from a close distance. And then it happened--He got scared. As he crossed a high wobbly bridge with individual suspended steps, he had made it to the last step, but he was afraid...his legs weren't quite long enough to make it to the last platform. And he looked at me with fear.

"I can't do it!", he said.

"YES! You can", I replied.

"NO! I can't!, he yelled through fear and anger"

"Bodie, there's only ONE last step...swing and then jump! You can do it!"

As I could tell his fear was that he would fall, I reassured him...

"Bodie, look at me! The harness above you is holding you...there is NO WAY you are going to fall!!"

"You can let go!", I calmly assured him.

It was obvious that he just wasn't trusting what he actually KNEW to be true. It was to hard. And even though he was holding on to the ropes beside him, he couldn't let go. And holding on kept him from being able to move forward. If he would have trusted the harness, he could have swung and made it (easy for me to say sitting on the sidelines!).

So in an effort to rescue him from his fear, I said, "Bodie, you can come back...you can do it...you can come back the way you came...you've already done that part before!" He looked at me and began taking steps. His fear calmed...because he knew he was coming back to where I was. Going the other direction...where the platform was...where no one was waiting...there was no assurance... and that filled him with fear that paralyzed him from moving forward. And so goes our life...and faith.

In that moment, though I didn't realize it at the time, I was having a conversation with God. I was Bodie.--God and I have had this conversation many times...maybe you have too..."I can't do it!" ... "Yes, you can! You won't fall!" But in life, even when we KNOW God is there and we're not going to fall...fear gets the best of our faith. And our fears can calm when we know that we can always turn to God...in those moments when we just can't go on. When we're certain we can't take another step. When life is too hard and prayers go unanswered, God is there every step of the way. And faith often feels like we're suspended by a single harness more than 50 ft. above the ground...we look down, instead of UP to the One Who is holding us! We forget, in faith, God is our harness. He will NEVER let go. But we should.

We should let go when He tells us to--Immediately. Four years ago, I was "hanging", suspended, paralyzed by fear...and one day, in a single day, everything changed. A spirit-filled woman looked into my eyes and said "You can let go." Time stopped. I knew God had spoken. But he didn't stop there...I went home and opened my mailbox to find a devotional that read, "Dear Cherie, You can let go."

You need to hear this too. "You can let go." God's got this. Whatever it is. Trials, troubles, unanswered prayers. He's promised:

"He will not let you fall" Psalm 121:3

So whatever it is that is paralyzing your faith, keeping you from trusting God...let go of it. God is holding you, there is nothing to fear. Take just one more step...His glory in your life is waiting for your faith. 

"Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience the LORD's favor.." Psalm 27:13