Pet Sayings Exposed and Exploded Number 2 "Let Go and Let God"
By David Heesen
I first heard this about 40 years ago. Sounded pretty good and pithy. As with all error, there is a certain amount of truth to it. Some people should “let go and let God.” These are the worry warts, the formalists, the legalists. But most Christians should never “let go and let God.”
“The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.”—Job 17:9
This is not a prescription for the righteous; it is a description of the righteous. A Christian who does not “hold on” has reason to believe he/she is not really a Christian at all.
It’s not that our tenacity saves us. We persevere because we are being preserved by our heavenly Father, not the other way around.
On the other hand here’s a story that illustrates how letting go and letting God might indeed be a good idea after all.
A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down, and to his horror, he saw that the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet. He couldn't hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff. So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something.
"HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE UP THERE? HELP!"
He yelled for a long time, but no one heard him. He was beginning to lose both his grip on the branch and all hope of being rescued when suddenly he heard a voice out of nowhere calling to him...
"Jack, Jack. Can you hear me?"
Hopeful once again, Jack hollered out, "Yes! Yes! I can hear you! I'm down here on the side of the cliff! Can you see me?"
"I can see you, Jack."
Looking up, Jack didn't see anyone, so he shouted, "Who... who are you, and… and where are you?"
"I am the Lord, Jack. I am everywhere."
Stunned at what he just heard, Jack thought his mind was playing tricks on him in his hour of desperation. "The... the Lord? You mean, GOD?"
"Yes, I AM."
"Oh thank God!" Jack said with a big sigh of relief. "God, please help me! If you get me down from here, I promise I will stop sinning. I will be a really good person and I will serve You for the rest of my life."
"Easy on the promises, Jack. First let's get you on solid ground, then we can talk. Now, here's what I want you to do. Listen carefully."
"I will do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do."
"Okay. Let go of the branch."
"What?"
"I said, let go of the branch. Trust Me and let go."
There was a long silence.
Finally Jack yelled, "HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?"
“The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger.”—Job 17:9
This is not a prescription for the righteous; it is a description of the righteous. A Christian who does not “hold on” has reason to believe he/she is not really a Christian at all.
It’s not that our tenacity saves us. We persevere because we are being preserved by our heavenly Father, not the other way around.
On the other hand here’s a story that illustrates how letting go and letting God might indeed be a good idea after all.
A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down, and to his horror, he saw that the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet. He couldn't hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff. So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something.
"HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE UP THERE? HELP!"
He yelled for a long time, but no one heard him. He was beginning to lose both his grip on the branch and all hope of being rescued when suddenly he heard a voice out of nowhere calling to him...
"Jack, Jack. Can you hear me?"
Hopeful once again, Jack hollered out, "Yes! Yes! I can hear you! I'm down here on the side of the cliff! Can you see me?"
"I can see you, Jack."
Looking up, Jack didn't see anyone, so he shouted, "Who... who are you, and… and where are you?"
"I am the Lord, Jack. I am everywhere."
Stunned at what he just heard, Jack thought his mind was playing tricks on him in his hour of desperation. "The... the Lord? You mean, GOD?"
"Yes, I AM."
"Oh thank God!" Jack said with a big sigh of relief. "God, please help me! If you get me down from here, I promise I will stop sinning. I will be a really good person and I will serve You for the rest of my life."
"Easy on the promises, Jack. First let's get you on solid ground, then we can talk. Now, here's what I want you to do. Listen carefully."
"I will do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do."
"Okay. Let go of the branch."
"What?"
"I said, let go of the branch. Trust Me and let go."
There was a long silence.
Finally Jack yelled, "HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?"