Psalm 131:1-3
Here are 3 signs God is saying to let go and trust him more.
1. If an Unknown in Life Is Causing You to Be Paralyzed with Worry, This Is a Sign God Is Saying to Let Go and Trust Him
One of the most amazing attributes God has given humans is our ability to think, reason, and plan with our minds. Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us to sit idly why we turn our brains off and just wait for him to do everything. God has made us to be active participants in his unfolding, grand story of creation and redemption.
However, with our ability to think and plan also comes the ability to overanalyze and worry. Only God knows the future, and when we try to act like God by trying to figure out the future, all we do is stress ourselves out. Anytime you start to worry or feel stressed, this is a sign you are taking God’s place in your life. The reason God tells us not to worry is not because the future will be perfect with no hidden traps ready to trip us up. Rather, God tells us not to worry because our Heavenly Father is in control and he loves us. Notice what Jesus said in Matthew 6:27-34. It states:
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Nowhere in this passage did Jesus say not to plan, not to work hard, or not to live wisely. Rather, he said not to worry because we have a Father in heaven who loves us. If you have been worrying about something like a relationship, a job, or some other need you have, keep planning and living wisely in this area as you are led by the Holy Spirit; but you also need to release control and trust God with it no matter what does or does not happen because ultimately our Heavenly Father has the final say.
2. If You Know You Have Done Everything in Your Power Already, This Is a Sign It’s Time to Let Go and Trust God with It
As we just discussed in point 1, we should never say that living wisely is the opposite of trusting God as though the only expression of faith is to sit back and ask God to do everything. If God wanted to do everything himself without including you in the process, there would have not been a reason to give us the Bible which is full of wisdom on how to live our lives for his glory.
The Christian journey is meant to be a graceful dance between waiting on God to act and acting in faith so God is not the one waiting on you. There is an immense freedom that comes when you know you have done what was in your power to do. In other words, there are things in life you are responsible for and there are things in life that are completely outside of your control. You need to apply to the job you want, but it’s out of your hands after that. You need to ask that woman out if you want to date her, but after that it’s not in your control anymore. You need to pray and ask God for what you want, but after you do it’s up to God what will happen next.
When you know you’ve done what you have the authority to do, it’s then time to enjoy the freedom of knowing you did your job. Don’t rob yourself of joy by working hard and then sitting around worrying if there is more you need to do. There comes a point in every story where you’ve played your part and then you just have to let the other characters in the story play their part. Namely we have to let God do what God’s going to do without getting in the way.
How will you know you are at this point in your specific journey? Once there is nothing more you can do, then it’s time to just let it all go and entrust it to God. As David prayed in Psalm 131:1-3 (NIV):
My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.”
3. If You Are Clinging to a Debt Christ Already Paid on the Cross, This Is a Sign God Is Telling You to Let Go and Trust Him
Up until this point I’ve purposely kept the “it” in the phrase “Let it go” very general because every one of us has a unique story. Some of you need to apply these principles to a relationship, others of you need to apply this to your career path, and others may be praying for a healing of some sort. There are countless “its” we will need to let go of in life so we can simply trust God.
But one thing we all have in common is the burden of sin. In Romans 3:23 it states that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. This means that we will sin against others and others will sin against us. And anytime a sin occurs, a debt is also incurred as well. Your sin causes you to owe others and other’s sin causes them to be owe you. All this debt becomes a massive burden on us all. We all feel the burden of our own failures and we feel the burden of other people failing us.
This is why Christ came. The cross of Christ is the only cure to the problem of sin. Jesus’ death means we can live. Jesus’ resurrection means our flesh can die. Jesus paid it all, and therefore we don’t need to owe anything ever again. If you are burdened with your sin or the sins against you committed by someone else, it’s time to let that go.
You don’t need to hold onto a debt that Jesus already paid. Give it to God and let his sacrifice on the cross cover the debt so you can experience the freedom of forgiveness. As Romans 6:23 proclaims, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
