This week we are looking at the art of letting go of those things that hold us back and keep us from moving forward in freedom. That process always starts with our head - that is, thinking like God wants us to think rather than how others want us to think, or Satan, who wants to steal our joy and diminish our life.

I know this challenge intimately. In my early years, I went through deep pain in a church I was leading. I won’t go into details, but the situation robbed me of all joy, brought on clinical depression, made me question my call to serve the local church, or God for that matter, in full time ministry. I felt like a failure and as an inward processor, all the tapes in my head told me I was a failure, that God could not use me and that I was unworthy. How is that for your first full time ministry? I suspect that while the details differ, you can think of times when you felt this way and maybe still do.

One day, a young man who attended my church handed me a book called “The Father Heart of God.” I don’t know why he decided to give it to me. Maybe he sensed my pain or maybe he was just following God’s prompting to share it with me. It is a short book, but profound - about the grace and mercy and love that our heavenly Father has for us. I devoured the book and the scriptures that were shared, and I realized that my view of God was flawed. In fact, there was nothing I could do to make God love me more and there was nothing I could do to cause God to love me less. God is love and He chooses to chase after us with His amazing grace so that we can be redeemed of our past, whether it is distant past or recent past, and live in His mercy and grace. 

I started to read the Scriptures in a new way, paying special attention to those passages that talk about how God sees us. When the old tapes played in my head about my unworthiness, I would meditate on those passages. I had to retrain my mind so that I thought biblically. 

This is exactly what Paul wrote about in Romans 12:1-2 (NIV):

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.” 

If we are going to let go of our failures, perceived or real. If we are to move beyond those who have hurt us or ways that we have hurt ourselves through sin or poor judgment, the first step is to allow our minds to be transformed by understanding how God sees us, the grace and mercy we live in, the truth of His forgiveness and the reality that He came to give us life and even abundant life (John 10:10). The evil one wants to rob us of our joy, while Jesus came to redeem every part of our lives on an ongoing basis. 

If you are having a hard time letting go of something that is holding you back or robbing you of joy, I challenge you to read the Scriptures often and meditate on God’s promises to you, and look at how God sees you. He calls you a saint who has been chosen, redeemed, adopted, forgiven, gifted and called. Until you understand these kinds of truths, you cannot be free. Seek them out, learn them and meditate on them.

Father, I thank You for Your amazing heart for me. How can I question Your heart or Your grace in my life if You died for my sin? Redeem me today from all that holds me back and help me see in Your word Your love and regard for me. A sinner, saved and now seen by You as a saint. Thank You. Amen.