Let It Go

If you are parent of a child over 8-years old, you might know what movie was released on November 27th, 2013. That movie was the hit kid’s film, “Frozen”. Even today the movie still charms the hearts of children all around the world. Both of my kids enjoy watching Frozen, and to some extent, Frozen 2… (Hint: it’s not quite as good as the first Frozen).

In the original Frozen film, there is a song that also became a hit. If you aren’t sure what it is, does “Let It Go” sound familiar to you? I want to look at some the lyrics from that song for just a moment. Some of the lyrics go like this:

Let it go, Let it go

Can’t hold it back anymore

Let it go, let it go

Turn away and slam the door

I don’t care what they’re going to say

Let the storm rage on

The cold never bothered me anyway.

There are a couple of things I think we can reflect on from the ideas of these lyrics.

Let it go, Let it go, Can’t hold it back any more. I know right now a lot of relationships, marriages, and even some friendships, are feeling the strain right now. Life is different than what we are used to, and some of us are spending a lot more time together than we normally do. Some of us are experiencing a new stress level that we didn’t think was possible. Some of us find ourselves arguing more than we ever have before. But this verse of the song offers us some advice… Let it Go. Let go of the differences, let go of the stresses, and let go of the arguments. And as we let them go, let us give them to King Jesus.

Matthew 11:28-30 reminds us, “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I an humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” 

The yoke that he is referring to is a harness that is used for oxen to get them to pull a cart or farming equipment. Typically, one yoke is for two oxen. But Jesus is willing to help carry our burdens. A spiritual yoke can be anything that has influence or a hold over us negatively. Let go of what is holding you back, of what is burdening you, and what you are struggling with. Give it to Jesus.

The second thing I want us to think about it turning away and slamming the door shut…. on our temptations. This time of being more isolated than we normally are, having more downtime in some cases, and just being by ourselves, can be a time where our temptations are stronger than we are used to. When we have less to do, there can be less things to keep us from thinking about temptations. We aren’t always on guard as much as we should be. When we are facing more of our temptations, we need to push away our evil desires. James 1:13-18 tells us about how when each person is tempted, we are at risk of giving in to our own evil desires. We need to change our outlook and look at the good things that are from Jesus. We need to slam the door shut on our temptations and evil desires so that they don’t grow into sin and eventually into death.

Turn your thoughts to Jesus.

My last point today is to not care what they are going to say, “they” being the world. When we are Christ’s followers, there are times when the world isn’t going to agree with us. There is a reason that in Matthew 7:13-14, it reminds us that the wide gate leads to destruction and many enter through it, but the narrow path leads to life. Choose to live your life on that narrow path that leads to life. Ignore the insults and the disapproval of the world. What really matters is the approval of our God and of our Savior. We want to hear, “Well done,” from God when we are done on this earth. The world will say all sorts of different things to try to throw you off your game. They will try every trick possible. But what matters is that Jesus came and he has claimed the victory. Slam the door shut on the negative aspects of the world. Turn around and ignore the things that they say in order for you to introduce others to the door that leads to Christ Jesus. Slam shut the door on the world, and open the door to Jesus for someone else.

This week, I encourage you to let it go. Let go of our desires, or stresses, or whatever baggage you are carrying around. Slam the door shut on those things. Ignore what the world thinks about your baggage because Christ has taken care of it. It isn’t yours anymore. Say that out loud… Christ Jesus has taken away my baggage! And open the door this week for someone to hear the words of our Lord and Savior.

Maybe you have already taken on Christ and given Him your baggage. Don’t forget that. Keep giving that to Jesus. But maybe you haven’t given your baggage to Jesus yet. What are you waiting for? We can still help you get to the waters of baptism, to be buried with Jesus Christ and to walk in newness of life.

If we can help you with that, please let us know! Be blessed today.

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