When we read the Bible and devotional literature pertaining to the Bible we are constantly challenged to “let go and let God.” What does this five-word statement mean? “To let go and let God,” is more than a change in direction. It is accepting God’s will as being more important than our own wills. It is moving from an ego-centered life to a God-centered approach to life. It means we let go and let God bring about what is best for us and all others. We open the way for peace and prosperity in our lives and in the lives of those who share our world.

When we let go and let God, we are declaring that we are not limiting ourselves to one plan or even our plan when God has something better for us. It means God becomes our pilot, and we occupy the co-pilot’s seat.

There is one word that best describes to “let go and let God.” That word is “surrender.” This does not mean “raising a white flag,” or “throwing in the towel,” in life’s situations. It does not mean giving in to the power and wisdom of the universe. William Law, the Christian mystic, said, “Self is the root, the branches, and the tree of all the evils of the fallen race.” Martin Luther called it “the joyful exchange of an egocentric, impossible self, for a God-centered, possible self.”

Dr. E. Stanley Jones in his writings has given a wealth of meaning to what it means to “let go and let God.” Here are a few of his penetrating quotes on what it means to surrender to God. “The saint is not one who tries hard to be good, but one who surrenders to Goodness.” “When I strut, I stumble, when I surrender, I succeed.” “To me, the center of Christ’s teaching is ‘He that saves his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for My sake, shall find it.” “The self in your own hands is a problem and a pain; in the hands of God it is a power and a possibility.” “A man spoke to God through and echoing barn, ‘I want more of You,’ and got back the reply, ‘I want more of you.’ You can know yourself, you can accept yourself, and you can express yourself if you surrender yourself. No other way works.” “Solve the problem of the unsurrendered self, and you usually solve all the problems down the line.”

When we “let go and let God,” we are alert to divine guidance. What a blessed relief we can feel when we cease forcing an outcome or when we stop struggling to make things right. We invite the wisdom of the universe to guide and support us. As we “let go and let God,” the power of His grace becomes an operating force in our lives.







Dr. Curtis Coleman is Emeritus Dean and Professor of Religion at Athens State University.