You’ve exhausted every possibility, run out of options, and come to end of your rope. It may seem like it's all over. But one more option remains, the best of all, the one you should have taken all along – relinquish everything to God.
To relinquish is to give up control and power and to let go. This should not be confused with giving up, quitting, or surrendering to the enemy, the disease, or anything. It’s giving God total control and power over and in your life and holding on to him! It is to “let go and let God,” and to entrust your life, the problem, illness, battle…everything, into God’s hands.
A year ago, a friend sent me a story about two parents who had tried everything to find healing for their critically ill child. They had tried everything with no success. Further treatments would only inflict further harm.
They were persuaded, perhaps forced out of necessity, to completely relinquish the matter to God. After this painful release, the desperately desired physical healing happened. The child, by the grace of God, recovered fully.
Relinquishment does not guarantee physical healing or a “yes” to your prayers. You may continue to experience great suffering. The agony may be unbearable. You may come to the end of your life and find yourself lying on your death bed sooner than ever imagined. No matter what happens, entrusting your life to God will see you through.
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze" (Isaiah 43:2, NIV).
The phrase “dying well” surprised me when I first heard it. But my pastoral ministry confirmed that some die well and others do not. Many approached death with remarkable grace, gratitude for the life lived, anticipation for the one to come, surrounded by loved ones and secure in God’s love. Sadly, others experienced the end of life in a completely different way, sometimes agonizing and tragic, always sad.
The difference was determined by whether had or was able to relinquish control of their lives in these final moments. To know there is nothing left to prove to God or anyone, no reason to fear, no need to doubt, and to have complete confidence in Jesus’ promise to take you to heaven changes everything.
God loves you. God is with you. God wants the best for you. As my friend Matt says, “God’s got this!” God is all knowing and all powerful. “God is great, God is good.” God’s vision and understanding infinitely surpass yours. All things work together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28, NIV). “Nothing is impossible with God!” (Luke 1:37, NLT).
If you believe these things, and I hope you do, you can trust God and his promises. You can stop fighting, worrying, trying to figure it out, or make it happen, or be in control. “You can cast all your cares on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, NKJV).
Relinquishment is a game changer. Once you let go of your need to know why, you'll see God working mightily in your life. Stop worrying, and you’ll experience his peace that surpasses understanding. End your attempts to make it by your own power, and you begin to experience a higher power. Trust God to provide, and he will in absurd abundance. Lay down your life to Christ, he gives you abundant, eternal life.
I leave you with this verse, which spoke to me powerfully during my cancer journey and continues to impact me today. May it bless you!
“Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God. Psalms 46:10 TPT
Check out my book, How Cancer Cured Me (2020), here: https://www.davidgira.com/how-cancer-cured-me
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