“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness,. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26-27
My experiences have proven the realization that life exists in the midst of straightaways and sharp curves, smooth surfaces and potholes, along with periods of light and darkness. It’s within those moments in tight turns, jolted with blindness that life truly begins to define itself. It’s when life enters the Refiner’s fire that the true S[s]elf emerges. It’s a phase, a stage, within a life-altering experience that while the music stops and the lights suddenly go out, opportunity for something miraculous occurs — transformation into true liberty.
But letting go is a crazy thing to do, it’s not easy with something precious. Stepping into the dark requires significant abandonment. In the dark the senses are heightened because nothing is seen. Nothing is as it appears and nothing seems trustworthy, yet it is here that God tells me to “let go.” Let go? What? Are you kidding me? Sound familiar?
And with that I light a candle, flip the switch and bring light onto my circumstances. Why? Well, it’s safe there! I am most comfortable in that place I recognize, understand and relate. Even if it means hurting the same way, staying in conflict or being in trouble, I am most familiar in those moments because experiencing these things would bring far more comfort in the light of familiarity than in the darkness of uncertainty. But God tells me [us] to “let go.”
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
So, just maybe, in the midst of my own crisis, while in the chrysalis seems dark, it is a period of time to learn the lessons of letting go. My flesh wants to cling on to those things I am most comfortable in knowing. But true crisis: separation from something, warrants a response to change. The options are simple . . . Run! Walk! or Wait! Each response determines the success and direction of the rest of my life. And the process of waiting is the choice of transformation and wholeness. My choice!
John Sanford writes in his book, The Kingdom Within:
At first the approach of the kingdom may seem like a violent attack from something dark and dreadful . . . . Entrance into the kingdom means the destruction of the old personality with its constricted and uncreative attitudes . . . . The fortress behind which the ego had been hiding must be torn down, and as these defenses are battered down forcibly by the movements from within, it may seem at first like a violent assault.
Lord Jesus, I’m feeling battered within. My circumstances rear themselves to my heart and soul much like a violent assault. I know and step toward you in confidence, that though this is how I feel, that true liberty in Christ is happening! When my thoughts turn negative, whisper your promises back into my heart — remind me of your staff that comforts me and your spring from which I drink!