The hardest part of the zipline tour wasn’t being 150 feet in the air. It wasn’t batttling my fear of heights to peek over the edge of the platform, or even sitting down in the harness and kicking off to zip through the trees. The hardest part was the moment when the guide hollered “Let go!” and I had to release my white-knuckled grip on the trolley before it hit the stop block.
I knew my grip on the trolley was not the thing keeping me from falling to the canyon floor. But as I zipped through the redwoods, every instinct screamed for me to hold on tight. Letting go–even for the second it took me to transfer my grip from the trolley over my head to the lanyards hanging in front of me–was the last thing I wanted to do.
Sometimes the hardest part is the letting go.
Here’s a secret: I’m a world-class clinger. Change? I can take it or leave it–and usually leave it. I much prefer the routine that makes me feel comfortable and safe. If I have to choose between letting someone else do something or doing it myself, I’d rather do it. At least then I know it’s being done right–or being done at all. I’m that person who almost always orders the same thing from the restaurant menu. If I’ve tried it once and liked it, why mess with a good thing?
Clinging isn’t bad if you’re clinging to the right thing. In his farewell to Israel’s leaders, Joshua urged them to cling to the Lord: “Hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now” (Joshua 23:8). Joshua uses a strong verb here. It’s the same word used to describe how Ruth clung to Naomi and refused to depart from her and the same word to describe how a man and woman cling to one another in the intimacy of marriage. Clinging is a commitment. It requires you to hold on so tightly that nothing comes between you.
We are meant to cling to the Lord. Joshua knew the stakes were high for Israel. Though Israel had claimed the promised land, the peoples of the land still lived among them. In a day when people invoked their gods in marriages, business transactions, vows, and everyday greetings, associating with the peoples of the land meant the Israelites were constantly exposed to and tempted by idolatry.
Acknowledging the gods of Canaan might have seemed a practical way of getting along with one’s neighbors, but Canaanite religion also had an attractional appeal. Rituals that promised the right amount of rain at the right time and offered to ensure a bountiful harvest held a strong draw for Israel’s farmers and agricultural community. Yet the Lord demanded his people’s exclusive allegiance. Adopting the gods of Canaan meant turning their backs on the God who had delivered them from slavery and brought them to the promised land. And so Joshua urged Israel to cling to God so tightly that nothing–not even a whiff of idolatry–could come between them.
Sometimes the hardest part is the letting go.Click To TweetLike Israel, we are meant to cling so tightly to the Lord that nothing else comes between us. But we can’t grab hold of Jesus when our hands are already full. Sometimes embracing Christ and his call on our lives means releasing what we’re already holding. Maybe it’s a small thing, like the way your cell phone is the first thing you look at in the morning and the last thing you see before you sleep at night–never mind how it’s stealing your concentration and time with the people right in front of you. Maybe it’s something bigger, like the extra hours that are padding your bank account but keeping you from fellowship with God’s people. It could be the way you cram your schedule because if you don’t do it it’s not going to get done. Or maybe it’s that area of sin you know you know deep down you need to deal with but keep justifying because it’s easier to coast than change.
Sometimes we have to let go of the pebble to grab hold of the pearl. #clingtoJesus #devotionClick To TweetI’ve been there. I’ve been in my own season of letting go of some things over the last couple months. My word for the year was cherish. It’s been appropriate, but I’ve discovered that cherishing what Jesus is doing in my life right now means letting go of some of the things I’ve been holding on to. Not big things, not bad things–just things that have snuck in between me and him. But it’s no hardship to drop a pebble to grab hold of a pearl. Those things I’ve been holding on to–those things you’re holding on to–are nothing compared to Jesus. It’s easier to let go when you’re grabbing on to the One who’s worthy.
I wonder: What are you clinging to today? What are the little things that have crept in and created space between you and Jesus? And what would it look like to let go so you can grab hold of him?
Have you caught my posts over at Devotable? I shared some more thoughts on this passage in Joshua with them recently. Download the Devotable app or subscribe by email to get a daily devotional shared with you each day.
Photo by Chungkuk Bae on Unsplash
3 comments
I agree, letting go is the hardest. But when we let go, we experience a more fulfilling life then grasping tightly!
Oh man. I have had to let go of some things I was sure I needed. But when I let go, I was actually free!
Thank you! I need to do this every day
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