"let go and let God"...

I know, I know, it is something you hear far too often and frankly, you are probably as sick of hearing it as I have been the past 18 years of my life, but this year that changed for me because I now understand what it really means.

Letting go and letting God is not asking you to give up."Giving up" indicates quitting, it is a negative act. “Letting go” is used mainly for acts where something or someone is allowed to let go for betterment. "Letting go" often means to set someone free.

So in the case of "let god and Let god," He is not asking you to give up on your wants and needs, He is merely asking you to let them go so he can provide you with something even better. He wants what is best for you in all circumstances, and he can give you the best, but first you have to stop trying to have things your own way (which are many times the ways of this world).

I struggled with understanding this for a very long time, 18 years to be exact. I didn't understand how anyone, even God, could want better for me than I want for myself. And I think a lot of that thought came from the selfishness of our generation. It is not often you come across people today that are more concerned with others than they are themselves. Let's be real, we live in a self-absorbed world where people often don't do things unless it benefits them, but that's where I went wrong. God is not a sinner. He is not an everyday person.

And shame on me for even thinking that God and people should be put on the same level. God is almighty, He is our savior and our redeemer, He is the man who healed the blind and deaf, He is the man who walked on water. God is not of this world, He is the maker of the universe. How could I possibly put the man who died on the cross for our sins and rose again three days later on the same level as people who steal, kill, and destroy?

Don't pray to God that the boy you have been in love with since high school will come to his senses and like you, instead pray asking God to bring you a man of his word that will love you the way you deserve to be loved.

You don't pray to God to help you make an A on a test and expect to make it without studying, do you? I sure hope not. Pray that God will give you the motivation to study your hardest so that you can go into your test prepared.

We have all asked God for the desires of this world rather than asking him for the desires he has for us. It took me way too long to figure out that I made a huge mistake, but when I did, my whole life turned upside down (in a good way). The second I stopped asking god for my wants and instead prayed to God that he would fill my heart with his word and the desires he has for me, everything fell into place.

What we as Christians fail to realize many times, is that God has our futures mapped out for us if we would just follow his lead. Letting go isn't supposed to be easy, and it never will be, but you have to trust that God has so much more in store for your life than you could ever realize. He wants to give you that amazing husband that sends you flowers once a month while you're at work just because He wants to give you the house you have always wanted and the beautiful healthy children you have always dreamed about. He wants to give you everything you want -- and more.

HOWEVER, just because you want the hottest boy in school whose captain of the football team doesn't mean it will work out. Maybe that boy is abusive or doesn't follow Gods word. Maybe that boy has anger issues or isn't close with his family like the boy you want in a future husband, or maybe God knows that boy will tempt you to do things earlier than you would like. Regardless of how bad you want something, God wants his best for you, and his best isn't always what you think is best, but I promise you this, IT'S BETTER. "and when one door closes then another door opens" Rascal Flatts was singing the truth yall. At the end of the day "letting go and letting God" is all ultimately up to you -- it is what God calls free will.

So today I challenge you to LET GO AND LET GOD. Watch him change your life and mold you into a man (woman) after God's own heart. Watch him give you the best set of friends you have ever had and watch him help you conquer every goal you have set for yourself. Let go of everything that is holding you back, whether it be a boy, your parents, an injury, friends, drugs, alcohol, and let God take control.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" Proverbs 3:5

"But forget all that- it is nothing compared to what I am going to do" Isaiah 43:18