Let Go of "Letting Go" for Good

"Let Go and Let God."

This mantra, like many others in AA, seems to offer comfort.

Yet "God" has too many meanings for people, and as sensate beings, we are not that good at believing the best unless we can see it, or trust that the person, or God, we are trusting will  hold us and our situation in place.

The fact of the matter is that without a sure knowledge that God has moved first in our lives, we will never let go.

We need to understand, rather, that God has taken care of everything for us.

And He did this through His Son, Jesus Christ!

This truth cannot be a matter of a limited or self-centered conception of some Higher Power.

Furthermore, running Jesus through the Twelve Steps inevitably brings Him down to  a level of a man-made deity, one who could not complete everything on His own, but needs something from us as well.

More specifically, this notion of "Let Go and Let God" implies that we are holding onto something, that we must release our hold on whatever is holding us back, so that we can allow God to move in our lives.

The reality is quite different.

All men are born dead in their trespasses, in that we are separated from God because of a sin nature.

We do not just do bad things, but in fact we are bad through and through, and we need a Savior not just to help us, but to give us life.

We do not come to God with anything, but He comes to us, who have nothing:

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" (Ephesians 2: 4-6)

Instead of acting as if we can do (or that we must do) something, we are to look to Christ:

"1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5: 1-2)

We have been justified in Christ. Our faith does not then create this justification as much as our faith recognizes that Jesus has paid it all, and we enter into his grace.

This same Jesus, who was crucified for our sin and raise for our justification, allows us to continue receiving his righteousness and grace:

"17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5: 17)

When we understand that we have received a new life in Christ, we then no longer identify with old, dead Adam, or our former selves:

"8Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6: 8-11)

Reckon yourselves dead to sin, to shame, and to any sense of "have to, or else."

Because of all that Jesus has done, He is taking care of all tings for us:

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8: 31-32)
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This life is not about daily dying to ourselves, but to continue bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10: 5), that He has done all things, and we are called to believe on Him (John 6: 29)

This idea of "Letting Go" implies that God is not holding onto us or to certain things in our lives.

Paul the apostle slays that lie once for all in recognizing Christ fully and forever as the Center of this Universe:

"And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Colossians 1:L 17)

"Consist" literally means "held together".

Jesus holds everything. It's not about letting go, but renewing our mind to the truth that Jesus Christ is holding everything in place, so stop trying to do so in your own strength.

No longer "Let Go and Let God", but rather "Grow in Grace and Knowledge of the Lord" (2 Peter 3: 18)