KCU/04/Optimists

Topic 23: Any place for let go & let God?

Question: In light of the discussion in ch. 18 of How People Grow, do you think there’s a place for being completely passive, letting go & letting God, in the Christian life? (Be sure to do more research into the issue. If the group cannot come to a consensus, feel free to have different group members each express their own opinions.)

Many people believe that to let go and let God is to completely just give it all to God and walk away and ignore the problem. God is not going to take it and fix it without some effort from you. God wants to know that you trust Him but at the same time He wants to know that you are also willing on your part. To let go and let God is really to come to the conclusion that you can’t do it solely on your own and you are ready to accept help from God and let go of your pride that you don’t need anyone or anything. I think if people could just realize that, then we wouldn’t have so many relationships fall apart or people feeling like there is no hope with whatever they are struggling with, big or small. Some religious theories have similarties and differences, especially when it comes to sanctification. Sanctifiacation is known as an act of God which he eliminates sin in a saints life. The main religion view is connected to faith in God, but some views on sanctification are contrastive as well.

In the book How People Grow, What the Bible Reveals About Personal Growth there is a story of a married couple named Rich and Stephanie. They were very devoted Christians when they started out but after twenty five years they started to develop some problems with their marriage. Stephanie was a control freak and Rich had a sexual addiction. Their marriage was growing further and further apart and their three children were the only thing that was holding them together. Eventually the kids weren’t enough for Stephanie to stay in the marriage so they separated. They had started to lose their affection for each other and their spiritual connection with God. They decided to go to marriage counseling, hoping that it would help them where their spiritual life had not. For awhile they were trying to change each other and fix their problems on their own. When their counselor suggested to let go of trying to change each other and let God work in their lives they were hesitant. They didn’t know where God was in this big mess they had gotten themselves in. They were in this mess because they stopped listening to God in the first place. When they let God back in and trusted him to help them through all this their marriage slowly started to come back together. They didn’t just give up and sit there and wait for God to suddenly say ok your marriage is fixed go home. They finally realized that they needed to ask God to help them with their issues individually and then together. They still had to put forth their own effort. Rich and Stephanie’s story is a great example of how let go and let God is a two way thing. God wants to help you but you have to ask him and want to help yourself.

The Keswick theology states that we as people get complete victory over sin, if we just surrender to Jesus. Although they believe they have to surrender their hearts to Jesus, they also realize that they can't just wait around for Jesus to take it. They spend time with God through their 'powerful preaching' and their reflection time. They realize that they have to work to get to "absolute surrender." This can be a form of letting go and letting God. American Fundamentalism shares the deep roots of the Keswick Theory. Even though Keswick beliefs are connected with God's love just like the Wesleyan point of view, Wesleyan's theory appear unalike. Wesleyan is known as "theology of love"; God's love.

Even though these views on religion or so called theories seem to view santification different, they still seem to view faith the same. In life people need faith to get by and this faith consists of letting go and letting god in control. For Keswick states that all sin is attained by faith. Therefore our faith for God helps to take our sin away and to help us get rid of sin that we continue to be tempted to do, as long as we repent and work with God to better ourselves.

Faith is a trust or belief that does not require proof, therefore why can't we have faith and be in the place of letting go and letting God? We can do this but the word also tells us that we need to take our own step of faith and let God actually help us get over the problem/situation.

What it all comes down to is just having faith in God and in yourself. Some people believe that God doesn't help us when we pray. Since we can't hear what he has to say or actually see what he does, they lose their faith. In letting go and letting God, you have to realize that the unanswered prayers are what get us through. God helps us in unseen, unimaginable ways. But you have to want to help yourself in order to grow spiritually. You just can't bail out and drop everything, while expecting God to take care of your life and make everything work out. You have to work with God to better your life. In conclusion, letting go and letting God is what we do everyday. If you pray and talk to God, while keeping faith and trusting that God will steer you in the right direction, you're letting go and letting God.