Last night was the last mid-week Advent service at our church for the holiday season. I have really begun to appreciate these mid-week services, as I feel like they are always a good reminder of exactly what I need to hear when I have seem to gone astray. My mom and I have also made a tradition by making an effort at going to the soup suppers beforehand too! We made German Chili for the supper, a recipe that we got from a fellow church member a couple of soup suppers before. Ironically enough, she also made the same exact soup tonight! Although we had used the same recipe, we both came out with different results. Nonetheless, both soups were equally delicious!
After the seven stanzas of ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ (yes, our church sings all seven verses), Pastor Tim presented us with his weekly message. This week was the third part of a three part series: Preparation, Visitation, and Incarnation. While I often find myself fixating on a particular part of his message, I also tend to completely forget there rest of the message because I just can’t set to focus on anything else once I hear something I really like. Although Pastor Tim only used this phrase during the last part of his sermon, I have often heard this phrase, only this time, he added a couple other words to the end:
Let go, let God, and let it be.
If you’ve ever heard the Beatles’ song, “Let It Be,” then you will know exactly where he stole the phrase from. Nevertheless, let’s unpack this for a second. So oftentimes I worry about things that I truly have no control over. It will be something that is bothering me, and I slowly begin to let it consume me. When I finally grow a pair, and let God take care of it for me, I almost immediately witness a complete transformation in my attitude. I usually need my mom’s assistance to remind me that I need to let someone else take care of things for me, a.k.a. The Big Man Upstairs so-to-speak. Not only do I feel much better, but I am able to see a change in the way I interact with others when I am no longer ‘freaking out.’ I’m usually fine for a couple of days, but then sometimes, it seems to come right back at me. Back to square one. It always seems to happen.
Now, let’s add the Beatles to the situation.
Let it be.
Let go, let God, let it be.
You’ve got to leave it alone. You have to fuhgetaboutit. If you think about it, whatever it may be, you’ll fall back into the hole, the one that God just helped you climb out of. Now when I say God, I mean my God yes; however, I’m talking about whatever God you believe in: Allah, Muhammad, Oprah. It doesn’t really matter necessarily. I’ll still love you just the same. But once we let it be, we no longer have to revisit the situation in which we were ‘freaking out.’ We can simply let it go. You may believe that this is a kind of ignorant way to go about the world. I, however, will disagree with you. I have never had someone come to my rescue so many times, especially when I have been anything but perfect. I know that I have sinned more times than anything, but I have to admit that I am forgiven every single time. Why? Because God loves you whether you believe it or not. And he is willing to take all of your troubles, fears, and worries, and put them on His shoulders instead of yours. Forever and always.
If you can let go, let God, and let it be, I am sure that you will be happy, content, and stressless. I am not even too sure if that is word, but I know that’s exactly what you’ll be. My challenge to you for this week. Try it. Let God worry about it for you so that you can be more focused when trying to determine the best way to spread Christmas cheer.
The answer? Singing loud for all to hear.
And that is today’s thought.
–pg
Yes, this is real life. 