By Dr. Rebekah McCloud
When I was a kid, each summer my family went on a fishing trip to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. My dad was a fisherman and one of his life’s goals was to teach us to fish and to love it as much as he did. Momma didn’t like to fish; she was scared of the fish and the bait. But she was a good sport and she always tried.
One summer, while fishing, Momma caught an eel. When she pulled the eel out of the water, she thought it was a snake. She screamed, jumped up from her chair and started to run, fast! Unfortunately, she had a death grip on her pole. So, as she ran, ever so often the dangling eel would swing into her field of vision. Each time she saw the eel, she would scream again.
My dad was in fast pursuit all the time yelling, “Let it go. Let it go.” Soon several other men joined the chase; they too yelled, “Let it go. Let it go.” Eventually Momma tired and stopped running. Dad was able to catch up to her and wrestle the pole from her grip. Needless to say, that was the end of the fishing trip that summer.
How often are we like Momma? How often do we run fast tightly holding on to something we should have let go of some time ago?
There are so many things in our lives, in our hearts, on our minds, on our paths, and in our way that keeps us from being the good and faithful servants we are called to be. Amen. Most of the time we walk in the flesh, by sight and not by faith.
When we walk by sight our vision is limited. Just when we think we have made purchase on this slippery slope called life, we fall back into a hole and find that the thing we thought we had discarded is still tightly held in our grip.
To get out of the hole and run the race, there are a couple of things we need to do. First, release our grip and let it go. Hebrews 12:1 reminds us to, “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Amen.
The second thing we need to do is to release our grip and let it go. Proverbs 4:25-26 tells us to, “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.”
The third thing we need to do is to release our grip and let it go. 1 Corinthians 1:24 poses a question and gives a command. It says, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!”
We all in a race and we all have an “it.” Sometimes it keeps us from having the very thing we desire. In 2 Kings (5: 1-15), you’ll find the story of Naaman, a mighty warrior and commander of the army. He had an “it.” His “it” was pride. It almost kept him from being healed of leprosy. When he released his grip on it and let it go, he followed Elisha’s instructions. He went down to the Jordan River, dipped himself seven times and was healed. He released his grip and let it go. Amen.
We all in a race and we all have an “it.” To be victorious, we must trust God because he alone is able to keep us from falling. Amen. The Bible says in, Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God!” Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
We all in a race and we all have an “it.” Closed hands can do nothing neither can they receive anything. We have to release our grip and let it go. Victory can be ours.
The Bible promises that it has not “entered into heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him.” It also says “no good thing will he withhold from those who do what is right,” And it says, “everything works together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”
We all in a race and we all have an “it.” Let’s release our grip and let it go. Amen!