Let it go!

It's Christmas time and like most of you, I am doing my shopping as well. There is such a huge collection of stuff for me to choose from. I can't buy them all although I would love to. I have to make a choice. I need to let go of some. We find ourselves in a similar situation during most times. We are at the crossroads, wondering which way to go. Which is the road I need to let go of? Some say, "Do what everyone is doing. That's better." While others say, "Don't follow the crowd!"

Different people come up with different opinions for us to choose from which leaves us all the more bewildered. God gives us an option too:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." - Proverbs 3:5,6

In all that we do, God wants us to make sure that we are on His track. In other words, God wants us to let go of  the track that is not according to His will although that might be an easier path to go in. Sometimes, the path that God has for us might be full of trials and temptations and at times, walking in those paths might demand us to let go of some of our most priced possessions like our comfort zone, our status and dignity, our cultural practices and the way of living that the world says is right. But God wants to tell each one of us, "Hey!  Be still and know that I am God. I have overcome the world and so you too can."

What better example can we take during this Christmas season than that of the birth of Jesus and find out who had to let go of what to give us a reason to celebrate this day.

Before Jesus was born, there were over 360 prophecies that were foretold about Him in the Bible and each and every one of them were fulfilled through His coming into the world.

One of the prophecies were, 

"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a Son." - Isaiah 7:14

When we look into the Bible, it tells us that this is exactly how Jesus was born. Matthew 1:18(NLT) says,

"Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit."

An angel had appeared to Mary before and had told her that she would be with a child while she was a virgin. In those days,(we are talking of over 2000 years ago) it was a disgrace for a woman to be pregnant before marriage. If Mary had prioritized her dignity in the society over the fulfilment of God's will, she might well have gone for an abortion. What a grave mistake she would have done then. But then she let go of her dignity to come under God's will.

Another prophecy was,

"And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a Ruler will come from you who will be the Shepherd for my people Israel." - Micah 5:2

This prophecy tells us that Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem. Luke 2:1-5(NLT) says,

"At that time the Roman Emperor, Augustus,decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. This was the first census taken when Quirinius was Governor of Syria. All returned to their own ancestral town to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He travelled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary,his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant."

This is interesting. Geography says that the distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem was about 80 miles. History says that the only mode of transportation available at that time was walk or a donkey or at the maximum a caravan. Now, Joseph was a carpenter, so obviously a poor man. Say, he managed to get a donkey for Mary because she needed extra care and protection. A donkey can travel 20 miles a day on an average. The donkey had to be extra careful because it was carrying a pregnant woman. With all these calculations, we can safely say that it might have easily taken Joseph and Mary about a week to reach Bethlehem from Nazareth. Agreed? Imagine what would have happened if Mary had gone on a strike and told Joseph, "I am pregnant and you want me to travel that far to get myself registered? No way! I am not coming!" That would have meant another prophecy of Jesus not being fulfilled and hence, Mary not being a part of God's will.

Mary obeyed. She let go of what the society might think of her. She let go of her comfort zone. Only to be a part of God's master plan. End reward :  She got a name that none of the women on earth could ever get. She became known as 'Mary, the mother of Jesus.!' It was a very special blessing. It was exclusively for her. But the path to earn that reward was not a bed of roses. She had to endure a lot.

This is how it works in our lives as well. Sometimes, we need to take the difficult path if we want God's will to be done in our lives. When we decide to let go of what God wants us to let go of, we are assured of our blessings.  So, if you are wondering why nothing is going right with you at this point, sit down and search your life. Find out what God wants you to let go of. Just shake it off and receive your blessings! He has the best in store for you. 

Yep! Don't wait. Let it go!

Listen to this song by Tenth Avenue North and you'll know why you need to 'Let it go'.