Let it Fall

Let it Fall. By Cathy Tesar

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”  Psalm 56:3

I hugged my kids and headed towards the sanctuary.  The walk between the children’s ministry classes and the sanctuary was a short walk.  But on that day, somehow, it was long enough to have a very extensive talk with God.  There were two situations about which I had been praying and neither of the things I was praying for had happened.  These two situations were nearly all I thought about.  In the morning when I woke up and in the evening when I went to bed and much of the in between. I told God that I knew we were to hold things loosely on this earth and I knew I was holding these things tightly, too tightly.  

I was praying, but I was really counting on my desired outcome to be God’s answer.  So on that very short long walk, I told God that I knew I needed to let them go. I had two pictures in my mind representing these two situations, one in each of my hands and I pictured turning my hands upside down to let them fall to the ground.  But here was the problem: I was so consumed with my desired outcome that as I pictured letting them go, letting them fall out of my hands, physical panic started rising up in my body.  So I stopped that train of thought, stopped that mental picture and told God no.  I told the Creator of the heavens and the earth that I knew I should let this go, but I couldn’t.  And I went on to tell Him that I knew I should ask for His help in letting them go…but I wouldn’t.  Like a stubborn child, I told my heavenly Father that I would keep holding on to them….and He could do whatever He wanted with that.  

So in my chair I sat.  I worshipped God - as much as you can when you know there’s something not quite right between the two of you.  And the church morning proceeded.  But right near the end of the Pastor’s message, God answered me.  Just as Pastor Brian was wrapping up his message he said these words: “There is nothing you can let fall from your hands that God cannot put back.”  My breath caught in my throat and I tried not to cry.  God didn’t scold me for my stubborn response, although He could have.  Instead, He pulled me close and spoke directly to that bubbled up fear that I tried to push back down.  Through Pastor Brian’s Sunday message, God reminded me that He owns everything, He has power and authority over everything and there was one thing He was asking from me: my trust.  He was asking me to stop trusting my circumstances, and trust in His promises.  God was asking me to let go of my desire for specific conditions and trust that His love, His grace and His provision would be enough in all conditions.    
 
We ended that Sunday service with another worship song – a song about surrendering to God everything we had.  This time I fully worshipped.  And with my heavenly Father’s tender care, I let those things fall out of my hands that Sunday.    

Challenge: 
Ask God to show you if there are areas where you are trusting in circumstances instead of His promises and provision.  Find some bible verses about trusting God that you can memorize and repeat for times when fear hits.  
Prayer: 
Father, thank you for your tender love and care.  Thank you that you see what is really going on in our hearts.  Lord, help us to remember that our security does not lie in our circumstances, but in You.  Help us when we pray to put our trust in all that you have to give to us.