To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes." Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.

One of the most admirable things about Hannah was her ability to let go.  She let go of Samuel when he was a small child, giving him up for God’s service.  But she also let go of something else… something you and I continue to cling to with all our might… she let go of her problem.  Look at verse 18… "…Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast."  Hannah had sought the Lord’s face.  She had prayed honestly and openly to him about her bitterness and her pain because of her barrenness.  She had asked Him for His favor in granting her the child she longed for.  And then she let go.  Hannah turned the problem over to the Lord.  It was no longer her concern.  The problem belonged to God.  And her face was no longer downcast.

You and I have a terrible time letting go.  We ask God to help us with a problem, but we keep worrying about it.  We carry our burdens to the foot of the cross, lay them down, then hook a toe on them and drag them with us when we leave!  Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28 NIV) He did not mean, "Come tell me your problems, but go fix them yourself."  He meant, "Come tell me your problems, and then forget about them.  They’re my problems now."

It’s a sad thing to say, but most of us trust our garbage man more than we do Jesus!  Whether we live in an apartment or a house, there is a designated place for us to take our garbage.  We bag up all our garbage and take it to the curb or to the dumpster, then go back to our home, never concerned with whether the garbage man is going to show up to carry it away.  We believe he will, and we don’t worry about it once we’ve gotten the garbage out of our house.  But when it comes to Jesus, we take our concerns – our “garbage” – to the foot of the cross, and then drag it back with us when we walk away.  Like the garbage man, Jesus will not come in and gather up all our garbage for us.  We have to gather it up and take it to Him.  Then, what we need to do is stop worrying about it, and trust the Lord that He will take care of ALL of our “garbage.”  We need to trust Jesus at least as much as we do the garbage man!

What Jesus does with your garbage once you’ve really laid it at the foot of the cross and left it there is the exciting part!  He may solve the problem in the way that you request.  Or He may do something completely different than you expect.  Or He may allow the problem to continue.  But no matter what God does about the situation you present to Him, your freedom will only come when you let go.  It’s sort of like the person caught in the rushing water at the edge of a deep river.  He keeps clinging to the bushes at the side of the river and being buffeted against the rocks by the violence of the current.  If he would only let go and allow the current to carry him outward, he would be in the middle of the river where the water is much calmer and there are no rocks.

So, if you have a problem, take it to the foot of the cross and lay it down.  And keep your silly toe away from it when you walk away!