Words can have a powerful influence in the lives of people. Take the Emancipation Proclamation or the writings of JRR Tolkien for example. Located within these documents are words that have challenged and inspired people in a multitude of ways. Their effects are a testimony to their impact.
As much power as words have, pictures have a even more remarkable ability to convey truths that are remembered long after they are viewed. Maybe that’s one reason why movies are so popular. I am reminded of one such example in the film Finding Nemo (Pixar, 2003). Marlin, Nemo’s father, has been overprotective with his son ever since a barracuda attack led to the loss of his wife and their soon-to-be children. This attitude leads to Nemo’s capture by a diver, whereby Marlin launches into an expedition to regain his son.
After a whale swallows him and Dory, a blue fish suffering from short-term memory loss, Marlin frantically tries to escape. The whale eventually tells the two to go to the back of its throat, while Marlin projects his overprotective attitude onto Dory, calling her “Nemo” in the process. As the two hold precariously onto the whale’s tongue, Dory intentionally falls, but Marlin catches her. Dory then tells Marlin, “He [the whale] says it’s time to let go. Everything’s gonna be alright.”
Marlin, being the pessimist, responds, “How do you know? How do you know something bad isn’t gonna happen?” To which she replies, “I don’t!” For a few seconds, the viewer sees Marlin’s thought process as he thinks, closes his eyes, and in a show of trust and faith, lets go. They fall a few seconds before the whale shoots them out of his blowhole, allowing them to continue their journey.
Letting go can be quite easy, as when a person takes a physical object (like a pencil) and allows it to drop to the ground. Letting go can also be quite difficult, as when there are issues in a person’s life that cause them to not be sterling examples of the faith they proclaim. This is due to a power struggle we have with God. As Charles Gordon has eloquently noted, “The basis of all peace of mind, and what must be obtained before we get that peace, is a cessation of the conflict of two wills—His and ours.”
In other words, we have to let go.
So why is this concept so difficult for us? Two reasons immediately come to mind. The first is that letting go involves the relinquishing of control. When a pencil is dropped, for example, control is transferred from a person’s hand to the force of gravity. When a person tells a group to “decide where we’re going,” they give up control.
But when a person tells God they’re not going to act in a particular manner, they’re telling him that a) his ways are better than theirs (Isaiah 55:8-9) and b) they want him to direct their actions (Jeremiah 10:23).
I faced this situation recently while spending some time at a nearby lake. The last eight months have been quite challenging as I have attempted to adapt to a new town and a different way of life. During my time there, the Lord revealed to me that I had been quite selfish with the way I wanted life to work out. After all, don’t college degrees entitle one to a decent job? Don’t the hopes and dreams of a follower of Christ count for something?
Not necessarily. The first six months in Bakersfield were a major test of all I had come to believe about God and his plans for my life. What started as human confidence soon drifted to despair, frustration, and outright questioning of things I originally considered to be unquestionable. Even after acquiring a job, something didn’t feel right. I felt like things were supposed to be different.
So in a moment of desperation, I stood on the lakeshore and asked God what was going on. His answer humbled me to my core. By turning inward, I had momentarily lost sight of the reason followers of Jesus are on this planet: to “go and make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to obey everything I [Jesus] have commanded” (Matthew 28:19-20 [NIV]).
I then wrote in my day planner words that have challenged me since: “You’ve given me ideas, perspectives, talents and connections that are not to be kept for myself, but for the benefit of others.”
This brings us to the second difficulty of letting go: letting go involves surrendering. The British Navy admiral Horatio Nelson was known for his courtesy to defeated enemies, but on one occasion a defeated French captain took the situation a little too casually. He approached Nelson holding out his hand, ready to shake. Nelson refused, telling the captain, “Your sword first and then your hand.”1 Only then could the surrender really be called a surrender. We don’t necessarily hold physical weapons, but we do carry actions and attitudes that put us at odds with God.
As an example, King David chose to take a census of his soldiers in 1 Chronicles 21. It seems harmless at first glance, but his actions indicated the king was taking more pride in his army than in God. The Lord wasn’t happy with this and punished Israel as a result. David realized the folly of his ways and set out to build an altar upon the threshing floor of Ornan. When David arrived, Ornan offered to give him the whole place. But David insisted on buying the land, adding, “I’m not going to offer to God sacrifices that are no sacrifice” (1 Chronicles 21:24 [Message]). He then purchased the land, built an altar, and sacrificed offerings to the Lord, who stopped the plague.
I knew that my selfishness had been exposed for what it truly was. And I needed to do something about it. So in an act of symbolism, I found a small piece of wood, held it in my hand, and spent some time asking God to forgive me of not doing the things I should be doing. But for me to make the situation more real, I needed to offer my ‘sword’—the piece of wood I held.
There was a barbecue grill nearby. I walked up to it, laid the wood on top of the grating, turned my back to it, got in the car, and left.
Letting go of that issue in my life was more difficult that I could’ve imagined. I don’t know why. However, the relationship I share with God is much closer and deeper than before. It’s also the reason Pure Refreshment is a reality.
Now the focus turns to you. Are there any areas of your life that aren’t the way God would desire them to be? What would letting go of them cost you? Is that an option you’re willing to entertain?
Listen to Dory: “It’s time to let go.”
I don’t know what the end result will be for you, but my prayer is that God would provide you pure refreshment, that you may in turn refresh others (Proverbs 11:25b).
“The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender.”
--William Booth
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
-- Paul, Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
1 William Barclay. The Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel Of Matthew. Volume 1. Revised ed. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1970, p. 218.
All material copyright 2006 J. Alan Sharrer. No part of this message may be reproduced—other than the forwarding of the original, unaltered message—without express written permission.
