Let go, let God, and listen
Let go, let God, and listen.
Let go. Let God. Listen.
Right now may be the best time ever to let go, let God, and listen. With all that has occurred this month and what is yet is scheduled before it’s over, that is really good advice.
I first heard the adage Let go and let God from my grandmother when I was 9 or 10. She explained it to me something like this: Tim, you don’t have to try to solve every problem you face or to make everything all right all by yourself. You can count on God to do it, and probably you can help.
Since I heard it from my grandmother, I immediately assumed the passage to be from the Bible. Not so. Asked about “Let go and let God”, Google returns dozens of websites, each offering between 5 and 25 scriptures that don’t say those words but give the same idea. Many would say that the actual imperative originated in the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program.
In truth, I don’t believe where this powerful statement comes from is as important as how we might use it right now. Use it with a slight yet significant addition. Now we need to do all three: let go, let God, and listen.
Let Go.
If my grandmother was right, and she almost always was, we want to let go of the assumption that everything is ours to do, that everything is our responsibility to take care of, and that everything is ours to make better. Taking the challenge to create our world by ourselves is the root of duality. In many cases it puts us in competition with Spirit. It almost always sets us up for more tension and stress and frustration and heartache and headache than we want. By letting go of feeling that we must create all the answers, we can be the peace of which we are created.
It is because you did not make yourself that you need be
troubled over nothing. (A Course in Miracles)
Let God.
The belief that God is the only true Power and Presence there is stands as the truth of most religions. Couple that with the faith that as we are created from peace, which we may also know as love or joy or harmony or goodness…or all of those as One, leaving the “do” up to God is not like passing the buck or shirking our duty. Not at all. The Presence and Power of Spirit is an essential spark in each of us. As that is true, then to “let God” is to let ourselves be God’s expression. We can let ourselves know God as transcendent over everything and as immanent (or intimate) within us. Some refer to that spark as the Christ Spirit.
Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me
will also do the works that I do and, in fact,
will do greater works than these… (John 14:12)
Listen.
So, we let go of what’s bugging us, that we can let God do it. However, like Jesus said and my grandmother paraphrased, we play a part in the doing. Yet to know what our part of the doing is, we have to listen. My grandmother said that, too.
We listen for the guidance. Our minds tune in for the message. Our hearts pay attention to what we may hear with other than our ears. How?
First of all, being still can quieten our minds. A quiet mind more readily tunes in and waits. If we are not busy worrying, planning, working out solutions, we clearly see whatever blips on our spiritual radar screen. Yes, it may seem mental, but it’s really spiritual.
Secondly, be conscious that listening goes far, far beyond words. And listening goes beyond just hearing. Whatever touches our hearts is something to be listened to. Whatever makes us smile or cry or catch our breath and wonder wants to be listened to. All we have to do is be attentive. This is where the encouragement to “stop and smell the roses” has true meaning. Allow your heart to listen.
Third, opening up to praying is really listening. Praying is definitely not a one-way communication from you to God. The thanks, affirmation, praise, love that we express in our prayers shared with, not merely spoken to, God. I believe that Spirit is as much behind my prayers as on the receiving end. That the diving spark of Spirit is within me supports that belief. Praying is talking to your spiritual Self which is one with God. So, praying is also listening to yourself, as you are one with God.
Prayer to Let Go, Let God and Listen
Good Friend, God, we are grateful for the power
to let go of our desire to control
and to let go of the tension and distraction that can cause.
Our awareness that you are present within us
and that your power we can express
fuels our faith that you are all good
and that everything you do produces pure goodness.
The co-creative power we possess thanks to your presence
allows us to participate with you in expressing good.
We understand that we must listen with our hearts,
not limit expectation to words we hope to hear
but open our attention for messages of every kind
that all our senses can receive.
We affirm our awareness of the good that comes
when we let go and let you guide us with what we listen to you say.
And so it is. And so we thank you, Spirit. Amen
Love and blessings,
11 January 2021
In: Christ Spirit, God, Joy, Love, Peace, Praying, Unity Principles
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