The gift of letting go 🎁

If you love anything at all in this world more than God, you will crush that object under the weight of your expectations, and it will eventually break your heart. ~ Timothy Keller, prayer

The Relief of Letting Go Today's inspiration comes from: A Faith That Will Not Fail by Michele Cushatt If you love anything at all in this world more than God, you will crush that object under the weight of your expectations, and it will eventually break your heart. ~ Timothy Keller, prayer   For as long as I can remember, I dreamed of being a mother. I pictured a house full of children, family holidays filled with laughter and traditions, photo albums filled with school pictures, family vacations, and momentous events. This desire influenced where I chose to attend college and how I built a career. I didn't want anything to get in the way of my dreams of family. Which is in large part why finding out I had cancer while I still had young children at home wrecked me. I looked at my children and couldn't bear the thought of missing out on their lives.   What pained me the most, though, was the very real possibility that I could die, and then someone else would take my place as my children's mother. I didn't want anyone else to play wife to my husband or mom to my children. That was my job. And the fact that I might not be around to fulfill it haunted me. As a result, I tried to hang on to them more tightly. Of course, the tighter you cling to people, the more they resent it. What felt like love to me felt like a stranglehold to them.   This is often the case with more than just people. Try to grasp love, and you'll lose it. Reach for affirmation and attention, and they will remain elusive. Try to seek financial success, and you'll miss out on it. Hold it all loosely, though, and you just might find what you were looking for.   In 1857, a twenty-year-old businessman surrendered to God. Although not rich by human standards, he had a solid head for business and desired success. But on his twentieth birthday, he came to a deep awareness of God's reality and determined to surrender it all to Him, including his dreams of personal and financial success.   On that particular day, Thomas Maclellan penned a prayer releasing his dreams and plans to the will of Christ. This radical relinquishment is difficult to do at any stage in life, even for those who have followed Jesus for decades. But it's hard to imagine a twenty-year-old aspiring businessman releasing his future and pending success so fully into the hands of his God. And yet this is what Thomas Maclellan did.   "To Thy direction also, I resign myself and all that I have to be disposed of by Thee as Thou shalt see fit. To Thee I leave the management of all events and desire that Thou enable me to say, without reserve, not my will but Thine be done. Knowing that Thou governest all things wisely and will ever do that which is best for me."1 This is only a small section of the covenant he penned. But it provides a glimpse of his relinquishment of those things he would, otherwise, be tempted to cling to.   Fast-forward more than a hundred and fifty years and Thomas's covenantal prayer has multiplied into the Maclellan Foundation and more than $600 million in total donations. One man's willingness to give himself to the will of God has now become generations of men, women, and dollars reinvested in the kingdom. All because one man was willing to let go.2   There's a story told in the gospel books of Mark and Luke about a poor widow who came to the temple to give her offering (Mark 12:41– 44; Luke 21:1–4). Moments before, Jesus had issued a warning against the teachers of the law, blasting them for their displays of religiosity while "devour[ing] widows' houses." They aimed for fame, grasping for attention and recognition. But they failed to see those who needed them most of all. This is the gift of letting go... of relinquishing all we have, even our lives, to a God who sees. This is the gift of letting go... of relinquishing all we have, even our lives, to a God who sees. Against that backdrop, a widow entered the temple along with a crowd of worshipers with offerings. Many deposited huge sums, making quite a show with the sound of their gifts. But the widow offered a couple of coins, an amount so small that no one noticed. Her contribution couldn't possibly make a difference. It was less than nothing.   Jesus noticed:   Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on. — (Mark 12:43–44)   Whether your gift is money or ministry, it is possible to give large amounts without giving anything at all. And it is possible to give little and yet give everything. The widow did what so many others find difficult: she held nothing back. Proving that God Himself was indeed her truest treasure, she relinquished all of her earthly riches. And in the end, she left far richer than the rest.   This is the gift of letting go, of relinquishing all we have, even our lives, to a God who sees. Your sacrifice matters, no matter how big or small. Trust Him with it and watch as your faith grows in the giving.   Five-Minute Faith Builder   I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. — Galatians 2:20   Much like the widow with her two coins, Thomas Maclellan relinquished his life to his God in a prayer on his twentieth birthday.   "Consecrate all that I am and all that I have, the faculties of my mind, the members of my body, my worldly possessions, my time, and my influence over others, all to be used entirely for Thy glory and resolutely employed in obedience to Thy commands as long as Thou continuest me in life."3   Read this section of his prayer one more time, and highlight any words or phrases that are meaningful to you. Then find a quiet place, absent of distraction, and pray Thomas's prayer aloud, releasing your life into the hands of the God who loves you more than all others.   To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. — Jude 24   "Our Covenant," Maclellan.net, https://maclellan.net/our-covenant. "Our History," Maclellan.net, https://maclellan.net/our-history. Thomas Maclellan, "A Wholehearted Covenant," Renovaré, https://renovare.org/articles/a-wholehearted-covenant. Excerpted with permission from A Faith That Will Not Fail by Michele Cushatt, copyright Michele Cushatt.   * Ready to Dig Deeper? SHOP THIS BOOK ► Your Turn Let's get real, sisters. Is there anything — anything — that we hold more dearly than we hold Jesus? Our families or children? Our community or friends? Anything that sits in the place that only God belongs in will ultimately destroy us. It happens every time. Nothing can bear the weight of that place of adoration except the One who deserves it. ~ Devotionals Daily COMMENT Peace for today and hope for tomorrow Save 40% A Faith That Will Not Fail: 10 Practices to Build Up Your Faith When Your World Is Falling Apart $11.99 40% off + FREE shipping on all orders over $35 SHOP NOW Beloved author and Bible teacher Michele Cushatt offers ten practices to strengthen your confidence in God's daily presence and power and build a faith strong enough to endure even the toughest seasons.   Life can be hard. Although there are moments of beauty and goodness, more often than not, life is marked by fear, struggle, disappointment, and loss. And we don't know what to do with it. We've tried to find hope and security in various people and places--but each has proved unworthy of our trust. We need more. Something--or Someone--who won't fail us when our world falls apart.   There is hope in your hardship and a God who is both with you and for you. These ten practices point the way to the only One you can truly trust, and ultimately, to a faith in him that will not fail. LEARN MORE ► Today's devotion is by: Michele Cushatt What our customers are saying "If it were possible to crawl up inside a book and rest, comforted by its loving pages and its lyrical prose, this is the book that would do it. I'm just over 60 pages in, but I'm so calmed by Michele's soft, poetic words that merely glancing at the cover on my desktop slows my pulse and fills me with peace, as it invites me to abandon my to-do list and read just a little bit more." — Kendra B. "Very inspirational at a time I really need it. I love the fact that the sections are short, like a devotional. I've been reading it that way, and it works out great." — Victoria F. "You will never put this book down; you will read and reread and reread it; it is sooooo powerful and beautiful ♥️" — Judy SHOP NOW More about the book In this book, beloved author and Bible teacher Michele Cushatt presents a better way. By exploring powerful personal, historical, and biblical stories of people of extraordinary faith, she curates and shares ten practices to help you deepen your confidence and certainty in the God who can be trusted with your worry, questions, confusion, and grief. As a woman who has been through immeasurable suffering, she writes with both deep compassion and practical insight as she guides you to: Practice lament and process grief without guilt or shame Understand what keeps you from trusting God and how to navigate doubt with truth Learn simple ways to foster shalom and gratitude on a daily basis Develop a fresh, eternal perspective that delivers both peace for today and hope for tomorrow Savor daily "faith-builder" practices to strengthen your confidence in God's love and purposes for you, no matter what happens SHOP NOW More from the author I Am: A 60-Day Journey to Knowing Who You Are Because of Who He Is I Am helps women end the barrage of negative self-talk and replace it with an empowering new narrative. You'll exchange lies for truth, insecurity for a rock-solid identity, and break free from the distorted messages that have held you hostage for too long. $9.49 44% off SHOP NOW Relentless: The Unshakeable Presence of a God Who Never Leaves Where is God when life is filled with so much suffering? How can I be sure of God's presence and affection, even in my pain? Can you believe in God and still wrestle with questions and doubt? These are the questions honestly explored in Relentless. $10.79 40% off SHOP NOW Undone: A Story of Making Peace With an Unexpected Life Undone is author Michele Cushatt's quest to make peace with a complicated life. It is an honest confession of a diagnosis of cancer and the joys and disappointments of motherhood and marriage, ripe with regret over what is and, yet, still hopeful for what could be. $9.50 50% off SHOP NOW Untangle Your Emotions Online Bible Study Untangle Your Emotions Online Bible Study JOIN THE ONLINE BIBLE STUDY ► Get FREE access to 6 video Bible study lessons + bonus resources when you join Starts June 10th "Our emotions have a purpose, and that purpose is connecting us to God and each other. " - Jennie Allen   You're invited to the Untangle Your Emotions Online Bible Study! Join us for a FREE Online Bible Study through Jennie Allen's newest Bible Study and unpack what the Bible says about our emotions and learn the tools you need to embrace your feelings as a means of connection. JOIN NOW SHARE this devotion with someone who needs it today SHARE

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