Letting Go to Go with God – January 26, 2021

[Elisha] took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.
1 Kings 19:21

Letting Go to Go with God

In the book, Where the Red Fern Grows, a boy learns to build a raccoon trap by putting a shiny object down in a hole and driving nails in at an angle around that hole. The raccoon is attracted to the shiny object and reaches into the hole to grab it. With its fist clenched around the object, refusing to let go, the raccoon is unable to pull its paw out past the nails.

Do we sometimes get trapped by the shiny but empty things of this world—spending money to feel powerful, drinking to drown sorrows, sacrificing faith to gain friends?

In our Bible reading for today, we hear about a man named Elisha, who was willing to give up the things of this world in order to follow God. When the prophet Elijah threw his cloak over Elisha and called him to be trained as a prophet, Elisha showed his total commitment to the Lord by burning his plow and slaughtering his oxen. He was willing to let go of his home, job, and family to do the work that the Lord had called him to do.

Although God may not have called you to be a prophet, he does call on you to follow him. As your Creator and the only one who can provide forgiveness for your sins and eternal life in heaven, he deserves your full commitment. And because he is a faithful and loving God, you can be sure he is worth following.

So, like Elisha, do not let anything keep you from following him. Let go of everything and anything that would stop you. And follow him to the heaven his Son, Jesus, has won for you.

Prayer:
Lord, create in me a desire for you above all things. Amen.