How to Let Go and Let God Lead You in Life
I take a long walk with a friend beneath the golden rays of summer sunlight. We talk about what God is doing in our lives, about plans and the future and how we want to be on board with whatever he has for us. “I want to learn to let go and let God lead me,” I tell my friend, “but I’m struggling with what this looks like on a practical level.”
We want to be holy women, women sold out for a kingdom purpose that’s bigger than ourselves.
We want to be women who love well and listen well and aren’t afraid to climb difficult summits for the sake of what matters. All the while, learning how to let go and let God lead is far easier to say than it is to live out.
How to Let Go and Let God Lead You
We’re sorting through these desires when we finally get to the bottom of a struggle that’s been plaguing us both for weeks.
We want to honor and glorify God in all we say, do, and think.
We’d also appreciate it if he’d show us exactly how we can help him bring his plans for our lives to pass.
We’d like our own uniquely designed five-step plans on how to live more sanctified lives. And just as soon as God shows us how we can help him with our sanctification, we’re all in.
I’ve made this similar request to God more times than I can count. I typically pray a prayer that goes something like this:
“God, if you’ll just tell me how we should work out this timing with publishing books and having babies, I’m on board. Just please give me a nine-month plan here.”
“God, if you’ll just show me exactly what I need to do right now to prepare for the next six months, I’m all in. I just need a few simple steps.”
“God, if you’ll just show me what I need to do to fix myself, I’ll do anything.”
I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t ask God to show us what we need to know about our actions, attitudes, words, and plans. We should.
I’m simply suggesting that after he shows us, we can walk in day-to-day obedience and trust him to do the work of bringing his outcomes to pass.
God is always far more concerned about the posture of my heart than he is about the intricacy of my well-laid plans.
What the Bible Says About Following God
Later in the afternoon, after the walk with my friend, I read these familiar words as the afternoon sun stretches horizontally through an open window:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Years ago I studied the word “acknowledge” in the original language. To my surprise, my memorized rendition about acknowledging God was painting the wrong image in my mind.
I spent most of my life sincerely believing that the phrase, “acknowledge him,” meant that I should glance heavenward and remember God as I go about my everyday life. Meanwhile, the Hebrew word for “acknowledge” does not denote a quick glance in God’s direction.
The Hebrew word in this phrase is yada. Yada denotes experiential knowledge. It’s the knowledge you get when you come to know someone by doing nitty-gritty life together.
Yada is the kind of knowledge that comes when you walk through life’s fires with another person.
There’s nothing fake about it, and it is tested and tried through life’s mountaintop moments and in the darkest valleys.
Suddenly, it dawns on me in the afternoon light. The best way to learn to let go and let God lead is by coming to know him through experience. The more I know him, the more I trust him. As I trust him, I am free to let go of my desire for control and allow God to lead me.
The More We Know God, the More Clear His Direction Becomes
God wants us to trust him with our whole hearts and come to know him more (through experience) in all we say and do. According to Proverbs 3:5-6, he promises to make our paths straight in response to our deep, experiential trust in him.
God is not looking for a plan from me.
The plan is not the point.
Instead, he wants me to crave a relationship more than I crave a roadmap for my life. He wants me to put knowing him more deeply at the top of my list and stop right there. This is how I let go and let God.
Friend, the true way to let go and let God lead you is simple. Seek to know him more intimately.
Seek to Know God More Deeply
If you find yourself wrapped up in making important decisions today, don’t throw your plans to the wayside.
God is a God of order, and planning is wise.
However, above your plans, God wants you to come to know him more in everything you do. He is more concerned about your heart than your plans.
When it comes time to make important decisions in life, do the best you can. Pray. Seek the Lord for direction. Use common sense. Ask older, wiser believers what they think. Ask God to align your thoughts with his thoughts. And then, make the best decision you can make with what you know.
Ultimately, the Lord wants you to do all you know to do to cultivate a deeper relationship with him. From that place, you will learn what it looks like to let go and let God.
Where do you begin? Start where you are. Check out my free online devotional below, or join me for practical disciplines to help you know God more intimately here or here. Be blessed! Freedom awaits . . .
A Free Devotional to Help You Let Go and Let God Lead You:
Let God Set You Free will lead you on a 14-day journey into God’s Truth. For a limited time, get this online devotional for free right here with promo code FREE.
These books are free on Kindle Unlimited or available to purchase in print:
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
Calling all moms and daughters!
Additionally, my teen daughter, Bekah, and I are passionate about helping moms and daughters grow closer while connecting with God. We have written two mother-daughter devotionals together. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section after each devotion.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, purity, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. We will help you!
Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by these books! You can buy them as paperbacks or get your free Kindle Unlimited eBooks on Amazon right here.
