I consider moving to be one of the most difficult and overwhelming tasks in our lives. What a pain to have to organize, pack, clean, and say good-bye to all that is familiar and comfortable, such as our friends, home, church, job, and favorite stores and restaurants. We may carry precious memories with us, but as long as we pine away for the past, we will never be able to settle and enjoy our new home. On the other hand, once we let go and allow ourselves to move on, our new lives can be quite an exciting adventure!
When my children were young, I experienced this when we moved from Tennessee to Ohio. I went through about a three year depression because I constantly yearned to return to the mountains of Tennessee. I hated Ohio so much at the time! I resented having to move away from everything and everyone I loved. Because I had such a grip on the past, I was completely unable to enjoy the present.
One day I decided that it was time to accept God’s direction for my life and to change my attitude about my situation. It was time to let go of Tennessee and give Ohio a chance. I found a good church and began making wonderful friends. We got involved in community activities and became active in making Ohio feel like home. We ended up living there for 11 years, and it became one of the greatest seasons of spiritual and personal growth in my entire life. I also made some of the best friends I have ever had. The entire situation improved when I changed my attitude, and I learned a valuable lesson about trusting and following God.
This also gave me a precedent that has flowed over into other areas of my life. I learned that we often must be willing to let some things go in order to make room for the greater blessings God has in store for us. Whether we are turning from sin, negative habits, our hurts, the past, our failures, the comfort of familiarity, or our false gods, we will not be able to bask in the fullness of God’s promises if we continue to hang on to something lesser that is holding us back.
Too often we associate the idea of turning from our false gods with a life of misery and legalism, when in reality it means we’ve created more room for God to do good in our lives.
The Isrealites experienced a tremendous uprooting from their homes as well, and we followed them through this process of having to say “Good-bye” to their pasts while God was preparing them for and leading them to the Promised Land. What God had in store for them was exponentially greater than anything they could have imagined while they were living in slavery in Egypt.
Israel had been treated severely in Egypt, and they longed for freedom more than anything else. However, as God delivered them and performed many signs and wonders before them, they began to fall apart during the transition to their land of promise. They began to pine away for their former life in Egypt. Suddenly, slavery didn’t seem so bad. They had all the food they wanted in Egypt, and they were getting sick of “Manna-burgers” in the desert!
They didn’t realize that God had purposely provided this simple food to humble and test them so that they would learn to depend on Him. God had a plan to refine their hearts and to reveal Himself to them so they would be ready to live victoriously in their new land as God’s chosen people. However, they needed to be willing to let go of their former lives in order to walk in the fullness of the new and abundant life God had in store for them.
We must trust that what God has for us will be better than what we’re clinging to, even if we can’t imagine it.
Can you relate? We have all repeated this same pattern in various ways in our lives. We don’t have the perspective God has to understand His purpose for our seasons of scarcity or difficulty. However, we learned in Days 1 and 2 this week that God often brings a season of leanness in order to bring us closer to Him.
When the Israelites demanded meat instead of Manna, God gave them so much quail that it made them sick! Worse than that, however, God also gave them leanness in their souls. This wasn’t necessarily a punishment, but it was for the purpose of making them hungry for Him.
Understand that when God allows us to experience emptiness in our lives, it is so that we will turn to Him to fill us. He alone can satisfy those lean and empty places within!
God’s promises aren’t necessarily realized without struggle. Just because He’s promised you something doesn’t mean you won’t have to fight for it.
When they approached the Promised Land, the spies returned to Moses with conflicting reports. Caleb and Joshua described the grapes and abundance that the land produced, but the other ten spies couldn’t see past the massive and vicious giants in the land. We learn here about trusting God, about faith, and about times that we may have to fight for God’s provision. He doesn’t always make it easy for us, but we be sure that He will bring us through victoriously and will always keep His promises!
We cannot allow the obstacles in our lives hinder us from walking in God’s best for us! We must believe, trust, follow, and obey God if we want to experience His best!
Whatever you do, don’t let a but keep you from the promise.
Bringing these lessons of moving and change to our walk with Christ, we must keep the perspective that whenever Jesus confronts us to release something from our lives, it is because of His great love for us. He is not being mean or ruling with an iron fist, but He is allowing us to make room for more of Himself and of His best for us.
Let me repeat this truth that Jesus loves you so very much – more than you can possibly imagine!
When Jesus confronted the rich young ruler, He knew that this ruler was carrying a heavy load that was preventing him from giving himself wholly to God. He could not follow Christ because he was unwilling to let go of his worldly goods that had a hold of him. Because money was his god, he missed out and never experienced the fullness and joy of following Jesus.
This is the same perspective Jesus has about asking us to release anything that takes His place in our hearts. He knows we can’t serve two masters, and He also knows that we will only experience true satisfaction with a wholehearted devotion to Him. He doesn’t want us to hold on to an inferior substitute, but He wants us to let go so we can have His very best!
You can’t follow Jesus while your heart and trust are tied up elsewhere.
God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, the very one that God had promised. However, Abraham trusted God and was willing to follow through. He had no doubt that God would provide. Thankfully, God stopped him just in time and provided another sacrifice. Because of Abraham’s obedience and faith, God made a covenant with him that continues to bless everyone of us to this day!
If God is dealing with your heart about letting something go, don’t hang on to something that will never satisfy because you don’t trust God’s purpose for your life. I walked away from God for a season myself because I couldn’t understand what He was doing in my life. It took me a long time to look back and appreciate God’s purpose in it all. However, it is precisely because of my lean season that I now have such a deeper intimacy with God that I wouldn’t trade for anything! It was so worth it when I finally let it all go and gave myself wholeheartedly to God!
The thing is, God will never ask you to lay something down unless He has something better to provide in its place. He won’t always reveal it right away, but you can trust Him to provide no matter how the circumstances seem. So, go ahead and let it go. Give it all to Jesus and watch what He will do with your life.
There is nothing we can lay down that God cannot provide something better in its place.
Session 6 Discussion Questions
ICE BREAKER: What is your favorite vacation destination?
QUESTION 1: How does God use scarcity in our lives to draw us to Himself? Has that happened to you? Explain.
QUESTION 2: Why do we allow obstacles to keep us from following God’s call in our lives? Has this ever been your experience? What obstacles currently stand in your way?
QUESTION 3: What things are you holding on to that you’re struggling to part with? How are they keeping you from moving forward with Christ?
QUESTION 4: Do you believe the following statements from the study: “There is nothing we can lay down that God cannot provide something better in its place. There is nothing we can lay down that God cannot resurrect”? What’s the evidence of your belief?
QUESTION 5: What truth from this week had the greatest impact on you? Why?
BONUS: What is the difference between needing or wanting something and craving or lusting for something? When does a desire become an idol or a false god?
Reading Schedule
- June 4 – 10: Read Session 7, pp. 141-165; Small groups: Discuss Session 6
- June 11 – 17: Read Session 8, pp. 167-193; Small groups: Discuss Session 7
- June 18 – 23: Catch up and complete study; Small groups: Discuss Session 8
How to Participate
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Have a blessed week!
