April 3, 2024
Wednesday, April 3, 2024:
Pause. Pray. Read. Be still. Write. Pray. Go about your day or turn in for the night.
Read: Isaiah 43:18-19 Hold On or Let Go?
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
(Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV)
The decision to let go can often prove more challenging than anticipated. Several years ago, renown pianist Van Cliburn found the process of decluttering to be gut-wrenching. He decided to auction off almost 200 items collected from his travels and illustrious musical career. Van Cliburn decided to let go of the past but later admitted pulling “… more than a few pieces back from the brink of new ownership.”
Have you ever experienced the difficulty of releasing the past?
Like Van Cliburn, I’ve attempted to part ways with mementoes and memories, only to find myself drawn back to them. Yet, holding onto the past, whether in material possessions, mistakes, poor attitudes, or “feel-good” bad habits, can hinder growth and obscure the new opportunities God has in store for us.
The key to our joy and abundant living is to discern what is worth holding onto and what we must release if we are to fully experience the new creation that we are in Christ. Just as the Israelites were commanded to preserve twelve stones as a memorial of God’s miracles to get them through the wilderness and across Jordan on dry land, we best hold onto the reminders of God’s faithfulness and grace in our life and let go of the rest.
Be still and Reflect: For this spring’s cleaning, what material possessions, past mistakes, poor attitudes, or “feel-good” bad habits do you sense God calling you to let go in order to make way for new things He wants to do in your life?
Pray: Lord God, As Your Easter people, help me to discern the new things You are doing each day in me and through me, and to let go of the old things that no longer serve Your purposes or plans for my life. Enable me to let go of the old to make room for the new and to cling to the eternal truths of Your love and salvation. By the power of Jesus Christ in me, I pray. Amen.
By His Grace,
Gloria