Remember that game “Red Rover, Red Rover?” Gosh, I hated that game. I was always so terrible at it. I wasn’t strong enough to win, so I came up with a new strategy. Whenever someone came charging at my tiny birdlike arms that were far too weak to hold on, I simply let go. I “lost” according to the rules of the irrational game, but looking back, not getting my arms broken was a far greater victory.
[Job 1:20-22 ESV]
20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
In scripture we read of a man named Job who was not playing a foolish game. He was living in a foolish world, the same world we still live in today. The loss and pain that he faced was not a joke. We are given insight to the spiritual warfare that was going on in the shadows and even then I still don’t fully comprehend how such suffering wouldn’t crush a person. I think a lot of why Job wasn’t crushed is found here in his response. As we read on in the book of Job, we find it took even Job’s heart time to truly process and implement his own words, yet this is how he managed to remain faithful and continue breathing.
So what did Job do in response to his whole world LITERALLY falling apart? He simply let go. He surrendered to the Lordship of God.
I often wonder if even in our Christian culture we have over emphasized the idea of winning. We sing songs about always obtaining victory. We write about it, and wear it on our clothes and jewelry. But is that really what scripture says, that “we” will always win or, does it say that God will always win? Does it say that the victory is “ours” or does it say that the victory is “His?” We want to win, and so we often view the idea of surrender as a bad thing, but what if surrender is the only true way to survive suffering?
I know we can “churchify” Job’s story and say that “Job” won the victory in the end. But, I challenge you to find any person in the world who has ever lived through losing a child (let alone all of their children) who will say that time and having more children somehow turned their loss into a victory for them. Did “Job” see victory in the way we look at victory or did Job see God win victory over Satan? I would put forth the idea that Job’s “victory” was surrendering himself to God’s victory. He only let go, and let God decide the outcome, no matter how painful, because God is GOD.
I believe we see this same response from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before they walked into the fiery furnace. We all know they walked back out again, but they didn’t know they would.
[Dan 3:16-18 ESV] 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
Are we damaging our own faith by always “expecting WE WIN the victory?” Does it cause us greater frustration, stress, and disillusionment when God doesn’t cause “us” to “win” the way we envision winning? Are we then left wondering if God is still good, or if God is there at all? Are we still those kids on the playground playing a dangerous game of “Red Rover” holding on so tightly to the concept of always “winning” the way we see “winning” when in reality what we really need to do is LET GO?
Let go. Breathe that in. Yes, it is terrifying for a brief moment to realize that you are letting go of every ounce of control and handing it over to Jesus. Of course, it is only terrifying until we realize that we never really had any control in the first place. Our clinging to the idea of control only leaves us battered and broken. It was never ours to have. We are too weak. As God teaches Job, we don’t see what God sees. We don’t know what God knows. We can’t even remotely begin to do what God can do.
Let go. Breathe out. Realish in the FREEDOM that comes in fully trusting in the sovereignty of the Mighty Creator God. The God who literally speaks life into existence. Let Go. Oh, friend, are you as weary as I am? Let go. Give it all to the Savior who knows you, sees you, died for you, loves you, holds you, walks with you and beside you and carries you. Let go.
Yes, He may take it away. I won’t pretend that He won’t. Yes, it may hurt so badly you feel like you can’t breathe. The reality is the world we live in is broken. Somedays the brokenness burns us. Somedays the brokenness comes charging at us with full force and we can't hide from it, no matter how hard we try. Let go. It may not be the victory you wanted, but it will give you the freedom you need. And someday, Oh some, PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS DAY, those of us who truly do let go and give our lives to the One who made us and gave His life for us, we WILL GET TO GO HOME. We will see His greater victory. We will let go one final time and spend the rest of all eternity at the most lavish victory party life has ever known.
[2Ti 1:8-12 ESV] 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.
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