Letting Go
I used to have an old shed in my backyard that had things in it that were very outdated. It had been there for decades and had accumulated quite a few things over the years.
But the time came when it needed to go in order to make way for the future. It’s funny how difficult it can be to let go of things due to sentimental reasons, or some sort of nostalgic connection.
There are some things that are needlessly held on to for no other reason than the comfort of knowing it’s history. It serves no real purpose, and even interferes with moving on, but yet as human beings we have a tendency to hang on to them.
One thing is for certain it is hard to experience a breakthrough in life if we refuse to let go of things that hold us back. Letting go is important. It is also Biblical.
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
Paul desired to go forward, make progress. He wanted to advance even further in the upward call of God in Christ. Basically, I take it to mean Paul desired to be more and more conformed to the image of Christ in His daily living. But notice, how Paul realized he must let go of things. Not only must he let go of them, but he must even forget forget them. Paul refused to allow any sense of sentimentality or nostalgia to interfere with his progress in this matter.
When I tore down my shed it was because I needed to make room for new things. To make that room I had to let go of some old things. This is never more true than when it comes to ideas, notions and even long held traditions and beliefs that are found to be out of step with the New Covenant.
Galatians 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
Letting go of something means you are making room for something new and better. This could never be more true than when it comes to letting go of Old Covenant ideas and beliefs or practices in order to make room for everything that is New Covenant. This is what New Covenant repentance really is. It is allowing the Holy Spirit to bring revelation of the truth of the New Covenant into our thinking and then letting go of how we used to think to make room for the truth of the completed work of Christ Jesus.
If you wish to really walk in the freedom that is yours in Christ, you must learn the art of letting go. It is the starting point of any real breakthrough spiritually speaking.
