This seven-part series called “Letting Go” will cover seven topics that we all struggle to let go of at different seasons of our lives. But why do we? Why do we hold on to temporary things when they deteriorate us and make us miserable? The fourth part of this series will cover our independence- so without further ado, here is Part 4: Letting Go of Independence:

Independence is something that is celebrated in this country, and in some ways, it should be. Being able to live on your own and to provide for yourself is a great thing to accomplish in your life. I applaud you for being a strong person that overcomes your barriers. I applaud you for wanting to do something in the world.

Ever since we were children, we have worked hard to become independent. Through your high school years you are becoming your own person and deciding what you want to do with your life; this is the time, especially with this generation, where you are pressured to become independent the most. As you go into adulthood, you’re almost forced to become independent. Don’t let your independence get in the way of you relying on the Lord.

Being a strong, independent woman is becoming the norm. Like nobody celebrates being a submissive, quiet woman who is an observer. No, you need to be a strong woman who stands up for herself. You need to be strong enough to live on your own and conquer anything without the help of a man. In some ways, that’s great. I want our world to be one that empowers women and I want women to have freedoms. But don’t become a country that in some respects doesn’t celebrate the quiet and submissive woman. Don’t get me wrong- I celebrate strong, independent women every day, I strive to be one.

But don’t become so independent that you think that you don’t need God’s help.

You need His guidance.

Don’t lie to yourself or to anyone else.

Without Him, it is impossible to be strong, independent or even women. Without Him, you wouldn’t exist. Celebrate being strong, independent and in love with Jesus. Relying on God makes you strong, it doesn’t make you less independent or weak. Wake up every day celebrating the life and independence and freedom that God invites you into because of the grace He has given you through His sacrifice.

He is calling you deeper still into His endless and matchless love.

And no one is strong and independent all the time. In reality- the roughest, toughest people have breakdowns sometimes. The most independent of women wish they didn’t have so much pressure to be perfect. The greatest athletes get tired and out of breath sometimes. The most successful of men sometimes wish they could live a simpler life. It’s okay to not be strong all the time. In our quietest, most intimate moments, we discover more about ourselves and more about the One who made us. We realize that even when we aren’t strong, we have a God that’s stronger. Even when we are in our weakest, most vulnerable of times.

We need to be a society that is submissive, and not just to women; everyone. We need to be people who ask God what He thinks before we ask our friends or even ourselves. Seek guidance in everything from big life decisions like marriage to things you think are so minute and insignificant. When did the things that we deal with become too insignificant to ask God for help? Our lives would be so much easier if we would just let go of our independence and seek help from an all-knowing, just God.

“Let God have your life; He can do more with it than you can.” Dwight L. Moody.

What an honor it is to have such an all-knowing mentor guiding us through our lives. But we don’t let Him, do we? It’s like we’ve been given a key but we refuse to use it.

Because it’s the easy thing to do, isn’t it?

It’s easier to go through life, making our own decisions and fighting for ourselves.

We get so caught up in that though. We get so lost in trying to find ourselves and trying to be strong and independent that we forget to find God until something bad happens and He is all we have.

Nine out of ten times we don’t ask God for his help until we’re dealing with the consequences of our actions but we don’t ever consider asking him for His help before the fact.

Maybe you did ask Him for His help and things were going great for a while until you end up crashing and burning. This is when sometimes we blame God and we ask “why?” Because He’s teaching you something. I promise you it will get better and with His help, you can get through it.

Then we question His plan, don’t we?

We say, “If only I had done it a different way…”

Don’t do that to yourself.

Don’t live a life full of regret because without the storms we wouldn’t need the Healer.

He’s teaching you dependence.

Let God have the reigns.

Don’t forget about the overwhelming privilege we have to be loved by the ultimate source of life.

You don’t have to have life all figured out.

That’s part of the mystery of it all.

That’s what gives life meaning, the fact that we don’t know how God is going to use us or how we’ll end up in the end.

Maybe that’s why we get so caught up in being independent. Because when we’re making the decisions we have a better vision of what the end is going to look like. When we let God have the reigns, we have no view through his goggles, and that assumption scares us. We don’t pause to consider that the future would be so much better if we had listened to Him in the first place and not tried to do it on our own just to fail.

Quit trying to do everything in YOUR POWER to save yourself because you can’t do it.

Letting God take control of your life doesn’t chain you down. Don’t think that having Him to guide you is something that takes away every inch of independence and personality out of your life. Giving God the reigns is a freeing concept. It’s almost like the chains are being cut off because you don’t have the stress of “is everything going to be okay?” on your shoulders anymore. You can be free knowing that you have someone who is going to take care of you and who cares about every single detail of your life.

You don’t have to do it all on your own.