Let Go and Let God Build Your Life and Future!

How are you preparing to step into your season of new? Jennifer Mallon of Reliant Family Church in Tampa, Fl. says that part of letting go is laying down those things that no longer serve us in this season so we can grab onto things that are bigger and better. The new things that God has for us.

See the previous blog Https://alexiscarucci.com/2020/12/09/god-is-declaring-new-things/

Letting go doesn’t mean that we do or say nothing. Resting in Christ isn’t inactivity but spiritual activity (Hebrews 4:10-11). It means resting in the finished work of the cross, His peace, knowing that He is good and will help us. We are to fight the good fight of faith, stand our ground against the enemy, etc. We are to do things with the power of the Lord rather than in our strength. Jesus said that apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

We can revisit the past to look at the choices we made and how they affect our identity in Christ. Our soul’s enemy, Satan, tries to change our beliefs to affect who we are meant to be by using our thoughts and emotions. We need to cast out any thoughts from our minds that don’t line up with the Word of God and what God says about us (2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Romans 12:2). Meditate on God’s Word and guard your heart (Philippians 4:8; Proverbs 4:20-23).

God wants to heal all of our deepest hurts, even the ones we don’t know about. We must get ready for our next season by releasing the past from our souls. We can’t live in the past with regrets, unforgiveness, resentment, and bitterness. We must deal with these things because they will affect our present and future.

You can’t heal a wound by saying it isn’t there. Your soul wounds don’t only affect you. Who else is being affected? Let Jesus heal your soul wounds. Let your soul’s inner healing take place by the Spirit of God flooding your innermost being. We can also ask for help and support from other people besides God (Nehemiah 2:17). We don’t focus on the problem but on God, who has the answer. God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-11).

Hope is an anchor for our soul, expecting good things from God. Hope is to the soul what water is to the body and overcomes pain and paralyzing fear. We need to live in the secret place (Psalm 91:1), keeping ourselves strong for our journey. Ask God to heal your soul and move back into faith to believe in your future.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

We can make choices to shift and align with God’s plan for our lives. Part of letting go is surrendering to the Lord and trusting Him with all of our hearts (Proverbs 3:5-6). We need to draw near to Him first and let go of our plans to do God’s plan (James 4:7-8). Letting go of our expectations and let God have His perfect way. Jesus talked about letting go.

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospels will save it.” Mark 8:35

Rob Mallon of Reliant Family Church in Tampa, Fl. says that God helps us transition out of our way of doing things into His best practices. So, how do we let go of something that we like doing? How do we stop wanting something that we like to do or that we have been hanging onto for a long time? We need God’s help. We can’t do it on our own. He gives us the desire and power to help us make the transition and shift (Philippians 2:13; Ephesians 3:20). He provides us with the heart to know Him and return to Him with our whole hearts (Jeremiah 24:7).

We need to let go of the expectations we have for ourselves and what expectations other people have for us. We can’t live by those expectations. Rather than having our expectations, whether good or bad, we need to live in expectancy of what God will do next in our lives. In Redding, California, Ben Armstrong of Bethel Church states, “expectancy creates an environment for the very thing you expect to happen to happen.” God creates an appetite in us for something He will use in our lives.

He is a good God and has good things for us. We are fully known, loved, and accepted. As we follow His plan and fulfill His purposes in our lives, we are Blessed in the process. Letting go of good ideas so we can embrace God’s ideas. To have a God idea involves surrendering our will, preferences, expectations, etc. That is when we will walk in signs, miracles, and wonders!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

I was recently sharing about good versus God ideas with a friend on the phone. I said that there are so many opportunities to learn about the Lord and His ways, i.e., teachings on Facebook, YouTube, webinars, seminars, etc. They can fill my days and weeks! They are all good, but too many to manage. I think my expectations of myself were too high, wanting to accelerate my growth process, creating feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed.

We need to know what the Holy Spirit has for us each day. When we let Him lead, guide, and confirm the things He has for us, we have the time to do other things He has planned for us as well. All we have to do is ask, listen, then follow Him. We can rest as He gives us the grace to complete our day. When I allow Him to do this, I love to see how He plans and provides for my days and weeks because His plans are perfect. I’m doing God’s will, not mine. When we surrender our will and plans to Him, everything we do becomes worship.

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]. Romans 12:1 – 2 (AMP)

If you look at this past year from a man’s perspective, we might think 2020 was a terrible season or year. But if we look at it from God’s perspective, He has us where He wants us to be. He is working in us and through us to complete His good plan for our lives and to advance His kingdom (Romans 8:28; Philippians 2:13). We are to deal with our past to bring healing for our present and future and seek Him for the new things He wants to do in our lives this next season and 2021.

The Lord has instructed me to take the month of January off from writing my weekly blog and Wednesday’s Word video broadcast. I will be working on finishing my new book about Christ our Healer, the second volume in the Living the Abundant Life Series. If you didn’t get a chance to read the first volume, “Are You Living the Abundant Life? Keys to Living the Abundant Life Jesus Came to Give Us,” you can purchase the Kindle version at https://amazon.com/author/alexiscarucci

As we close out the year 2020, I pray that you have a more profound revelation that you are in the process of becoming more like Jesus every day as you live a Spirit-led life (Galatians 5:16, 25). Continue to draw upon His strength and draw closer to Him. Starting in February 2021, our focus will be to “Encounter God Today!”