Letting Go

^"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:10-14

Have you ever been weighed down by a situation, or perhaps a memory that you struggle with releasing? You keep remembering a conversation, and think about the things that you should have said. 'If only' pops into your mind. You have regrets of handling a situation poorly. You desire for things to be different. How do I get past this?

Or perhaps you responded correctly, but still keep replaying the scene over and over in your mind. You spend a lot of time and energy on things of the past, or circumstances that are beyond your control. Your thoughts are on a constant merry-go-round.

I find it interesting that God continues to show me new directions that I need to grow in, and all of them revolve around choice. He has distinct areas and paths for me to follow, but it has to be my conscious choice and decision. Yesterday, I blogged about choosing to think on positive things instead of negative ones. This is an area I often have struggled with, because of my upbringing. Both of my parents were fairly negative. Now I could say that I am the same way, because of their influence, but God calls me to go beyond that. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" When Christ came into my life almost forty years ago, I became His new creation. I no longer have excuses for the way I do things.

So how do we choose to let go, and to be different in our thoughts, attitudes and actions? Colossians 3:1-2 encourages, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Again...choosing to set our hearts and minds on Christ. Choosing to look beyond our circumstance and place it in the Lord's hands. Who else can better take care of our problems than the Lord?

This day I choose to let go of the things that weigh me down. I choose to place the burdens in my Daddy's arms. Only He knows how best to carry these things. I choose to keep my heart and mind focused on Him!