May 19 - Letting Go
The true believer in God and His presence is different from those who profess to believe in God but yet live in a Godless environment. Without God’s presence, we are left to fend for ourselves, we are alone in facing our enemies and we have no one to turn to for help. We own everything and are responsible for all their outcomes. The burdens are getting heavier and heavier but we do not trust God to take them on. It is so difficult to let go and let God do it. Today, if you still have something on your hands, you are not yet realizing the full impact of His presence.
Making continuous and daily pleas to God for His help and deliverance was the lifeline for the psalmist. He was under attack constantly but he realized God’s presence and help. He is the Rock and his protection, and He had given the command to save him already. There must be a trust in God’s goodness and willingness to help. His past history also helped him in trusting God for it was God whom he had leaned on before his birth and it was God who took him from his mother’s womb. In an instant, his pleas were turned into praises, with the full knowledge of God’s presence and help.
David had two opportunities to kill his archenemy, King Saul. But out of his regard for God and His anointed, he refused to lift his hand to harm the king. In letting go, he let God take care of Saul. Those who were around him were dumbfounded about his inaction but David knew well that there were something that belonged only to the Lord and vengeance is one of them. In the case of Nabat, the wicked man, it was so easy for him to lift his hand to kill since Nabat deserved it. However, the Lord sent Abigail to turn away the wrath so that David would not have to take the law into his own hands. The Lord is righteous and just, we must trust in His judgment and timing for vengeance and for righting the wrong.
This is what following Jesus is all about, it is listening to Him, see what He is doing, anticipate His actions and trust Him to do His thing. Remember, you are the sheep and not the Shepherd, it is His responsibility to take care of you. Do not go outside of His protection and covering by lifting up your hands. Follow Him, if He tells you to do it, do it. If not, just stay put. As John the Baptist did not do even one miracle, his testimony concerning Jesus was believed by many to be true. It was God who drew the people to Himself and it was not by John’s doing.
Are you tempted to lift your hands to do something for the Lord? All fleshly attempts to do God’s work often end up in failure because the Lord is not in it. To do the right things without God’s permission is a sin of disobedience. Many are trying to serve the Lord without following Him. Are you a doer or a follower?
Ps 71:1-8 1 Sam 24:1-25:44 John 10:22-42 Prov 15:20-21