Letting Go

Solomon penned this line: Eccl. 3:1-8, 11

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

God made everything beautiful in its time. The book of NT tells us that in God economy, new life spring forth from death. Death is the secret of fruitfulness. Jesus tried to help His follower to understand this. He said:

Joh 12:23 - 25 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Joh 12:27 – 28 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

The message is for all of us. It is a message of hope when life steals from us. It is a message of strength when we are facing the future empty-handed. It is a message of substance that can fill the holes in our soul with promises. God says to us:

WHEN YOU ARE LETTING GO, REMEMBER THAT I AM PLANTING SEEDS OF NEW LIFE IN YOU. YOUR GRIEF IS ONLY FOR A SEASON. MY END IS NOT DEATH. IT IS ALWAYS LIFE. I AM THE AUTHOR OF LIFE.(1)

This is the promise that we have to hang on to when we are doing the work of letting go. And in times of letting go, run on to God because He knows us more than we know ourselves.


Notes:

1. Dr. Pamela Reeve, Parables of the Forest (Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah Publishers, Inc. 1989)