“In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” – Deepak Chopra
“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.”
– Ann Lander
Hey, so I am sure by the title of this blog and those two quotes, you have an idea of what I want to share with you on what’s currently going on in my heart, head, life, etc. haha
I thought I’d add those two quotes to begin cause well, they are pretty good. Food for thought? But more so I had to think of a semi smooth transition rather than just jumping right in ya know?
Okay so now we jump
“Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. ‘ Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me, and I will show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?” – Matthew 16:24-26
This is a verse that I have read a bunch of times, but this time it means something totally different than how I usually see it. I think I am finally realizing what it means. It started when I was listening to the song “Let it go” by Tenth Avenue North. After that song, I looked up this verse in the MSG version which is when it clicked. Jesus is teaching me the importance of simply letting go. Which if I may add, I have been here many times before, ha! Learning to let go and having to remind myself to. So obviously there is still more to grasp on this whole “letting go” that Jesus wants me to get. And this time I am understanding it differently than before. So let me attempt to break down what’s going on inside my heart & head by breaking down the above scripture.
Let’s start with: “Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.”
Now, Jesus isn’t literally talking about sacrificing your body (He settled that on the cross), but I think He means one of the definitions of self-sacrifice which is: a sacrifice of ones interest or for a cause or ideal.
It is in the self-sacrifice, the letting go- that we find our true selves. The letting go of what we want, what we think is best for us, what we think we need, how we think or expect things to be. I am realizing that the things that I may want even though that are “good” things, they might not be good for me. And maybe not forever, maybe just for a season. So I just need to let go and trust that God does have my best interest in mind, that he wants good things for me- but not at the cost of my soul. The quality of our soul means more to him and is more valuable than just getting everything we want or how we expected. And that is where the verse: What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? comes in.
For the race, I realized that I did have some expectations of how I assumed things would be, how I thought God would do things. But how things have been + how God is doing things, is not how I expected. But it’s so good, oh is it good. It’s good because I can see how it’s better for me, even though sometimes I don’t like it, ha ha hardy har har.
But it’s growing me. I’m being stretched & challenged internally. And figuring out how to walk this out can be hard and confusing but I believe I am finding my true self.
I get it now. We let go of our life, so we can gain our soul. Our true selves.
Alrighty then- there, I did it. I externally processed haha. Hopefully maybe some of this made sense to you, maybe it resonated with you. IF so, I pray that Jesus would give you the courage, the strength and the wisdom to let go. Because oh how freeing it is to let go and let Jesus be in the driver’s seat. Because then you just get to look out the window in wonder & awe of where He is taking you.
Well, that’s all for now. Till next time.
Much love, T.
(High five if you got this far, thanks for taking time to read this)
