Day 7: Letting Go

Shaking and Shaping:

Today’s focus is on Hebrews 12. This chapter talks about hardships.

Verses 7- 11: “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?  If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

God allows events to shake us up in order to shape us. I was talking to my dad about this the other day and he had an interesting observation: The difference between shake and shape is only one letter. Just like in the alphabet, the k always precedes the p. Although there is little difference in the spelling, Christ’s shaking has a much different outcome than the worlds. In Christ, the K always leads to a beautiful P. (shaKing to shaPing) In the world, the K leads to a different P… Pain. (shaKing to Pain) As Christians, we must allow the shaking of this world to lead to the shaping of Christ. If we let our struggles shape us, we will be excited when our world begins to shaKe because we will know that shaPing is coming!

In order to allow God to shape us, we have to surrender. In this competitive world, it is often difficult to surrender. We are taught at a young age to never give up, in our minds, surrender is the same as failure.

The bible tells us to surrender:

Romans 12:1- Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship.

Rick warren talks about a genuine surrender in A Purpose Driven Life. “Genuine surrender says, Father, if this problem, pain, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose in my life or in another’s, please DON’T take it away.” This type of surrendering takes maturity!

Everyone will eventually surrender to something: a relationship, material possessions, careers, children, drugs… there is an endless list of this we make idols. Or we can choose to surrender to Christ.

“You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice.” –Rick Warren

Luke 9: 23- He said to all of them, “Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses every day, and follow me.

Today’s Challenge:

Ask yourself, what am I trying to control, what am I holding on to? Am I allowing the shaking of this world to cause me pain? Or am I allowing Christ to shape me?

Whatever you are holding on to, give it to God. You may have to ask him to give you the strength to let go. If you want to be free of pain, you must trust Him to take care of you!