“The Lord your God will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14, NIV
My two-year-old daughter looked up at me with big blue eyes and hands raised. About 30 minutes earlier, she had asked to wear my T-shirt out of the clean laundry basket, and it fit her more like an oversized floor-length gown. Now, she wanted to take it off. Impatient with waiting for me, she suddenly began to try to get out of the shirt on her own, quickly becoming entangled in all of the excess fabric. I knew with complete confidence that I could easily solve this mess she had gotten herself into. So as she started to whine in frustration I calmly said to her, “I’m going to help you; Let go.”
She stopped struggling, looked at me, and raised her arms again. I pulled the loose shirt off and away she trotted, happy again.
It hit me at that moment: this is a picture of us with our Father God. We end up in the messy entanglements of life so often—sometimes because of our own prior choices. Many times, we get impatient with waiting for God to do something. When we try to get out of it on our own strength, we become frustrated at our ineptness and inability to change, improve, solve, or deal with the situation successfully. Meanwhile, Father God is standing right there watching us, at our side, ready to help. And since He is God and we are not, He knows that He is able to effortlessly fix what we are helpless to do on our own. But here’s the catch: we have to STOP struggling to do things in our own power and instead surrender to Him.
God is saying to us, “I’m going to help you; Let go.”
“Let go and let God.” How many times have you seen that on a bumper sticker or coffee mug? It’s cliche, but so true…and also SO hard to do sometimes. I know that surrender, trust, and obedience are things that God gives me the opportunity to practice every single day. Sometimes I do pretty well: I stop struggling in my own power and raise my hands and eyes to Him. I know where my help comes from—the Maker of Heaven and Earth. But sometimes I end up failing, frustrated, and angry because the circumstances in front of my eyes block my view and I’m focusing on my own strength. What a gracious God we serve: He waits patiently for us and gives us new mercies every morning.
The next time you find yourself in a messy situation, remember that you are the two-year-old in that oversized shirt. Stand still, and raise your hands and eyes to your Heavenly Father in expectation. God’s got this.
Heavenly Father, thank you for always being there, ready to help us. Thank you for Your unfailing love and Your never-ending patience with us, especially when we are stubborn and forget or refuse to ask for help. Thank you for being a loving Father who desires to give His children good things. We ask for your Holy Spirit dwelling in us to gently remind us to keep our eyes on You, our living hope. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Copyright Rhapsody Jordan-Parisi.
Rhapsody is a member and high school English teacher from North Carolina. She is passionate about helping overwhelmed teachers reclaim their time and peace of mind through support, encouragement, and intentional strategies. You can connect with her at tightropeteaching.com.
