Four miles from our house is a forest. Maybe you have heard me talk about this place in the past. It is the kind of forest that I had to drive an hour and a half to get to when I lived in metro-Atlanta.
It has the feel of a secret place — like the places you find in hiking guides sitting under glass in stores that sell freeze-dried food and backpacks, Tevas, and Chaco’s. These kinds of stores smell of cedar when you walk in. I love these stores.
On Saturdays, Leslie and I will often hike up a trail in these woods that follows a creek. The creek rustles as it runs over rocks and logs and falls over an old dam that was placed there by the city when the forest sourced the drinking-water for Greenville.
Beyond the dam, the terrain changes and becomes much harder. Now the creek is moving quicker as the water picks up momentum over the incline. Almost out of control, the water sloshes up on the riverbanks.
After overcoming a steep incline about 3 miles up the trail, we sit to rest a while. My favorite thing to do there is to just sit on a rock and break up sticks and toss them into the water that is pooling up at our feet and watch them tumble over the rocks and down the waterfall. There is something therapeutic about that.
Maybe it is in the lack of control. The exercise of simply tossing something in and watching it. It is relaxing—de-stressing.
Many years ago, I heard an older man speak at a conference I was attending. He was quite intriguing because he had lived as an American expatriate in China since 1972 and owned a factory. He built stuff and sold it back to Home Depot for U.S. customers.
One of the projects and dreams this man had was building his own airplane. He had achieved this dream and actually flew the plane to Philadelphia, which is the reason he was standing there in front of me.
He was talking about letting go and stewardship. He preached about having regular check-ins with God the way a worker would his boss or founder of the company. The purpose of these check-ins for the worker was to hand over everything he couldn’t handle to the founder.
I thought of this intriguing business owner in China and the hikes Leslie and I take on Saturdays again this morning as I read the story of Moses and his mother in Exodus 2.
If you remember, Moses was born at a time when male, Israelite babies were to be killed by the midwives. At this time, out of fear, the Egyptian pharaoh commanded that the lives of all male Israelite babies were to be snuffed out by throwing them into the Nile. But Moses’ mother defied this order for a while and kept Moses safe.
She shielded him and protected him from danger as long as she could, but finally, she had no choice. I imagine that young Moses grew to the point that he was running all over the place. He was probably strong, energetic, and loud.
Babies, as they grow into little boys and young men, require more and more food, knowledge, and nurturing. Discipline and control are beneficial in these early moments, but there comes a time you have to release. You have to hand them over to God.
There comes a time when your commitment will no longer yield growth but rather diminishment.
This is significant because applying greater control when we really should release will only result in crushing us and them.
The reason is that tightening control when we should release is a symptom of unbelief, faithlessness, envy, and hoarding. In these circumstances, we are more likely to crush what we love. Building bigger barns and grasping things we value more tightly will only snuff out the life.
There is a point in the development of any person or thing at which the only pathway to growth, blessing, abundance, multiplication, and fruit is to let it go. Release control to God.
Please, don’t just limit the application of this message to significant, long-term projects.
Many of you have reached the end of the school year and have done all that you can. You have worked consistently, and now it is summer. There comes a time to hand it over to God. Let him take it from there.
That is the realization that Moses’ mother, Jochebed, came to. She realized that she had done all she could do. She needed God to do the rest.
I think it is significant in this passage that the word in the original Hebrew used to describe the papyrus basket that Jochebed placed Moses in is the same word used for the Ark in the narrative of Noah. The Ark of Noah is a type of Christ that protects the family of Noah just as Jesus shields those who believe from the wrath of God.
Additionally, to enter the Ark of Noah, there was a level of sacrifice and surrender to God. The family of Noah had to put themselves under God’s protection and give up their present life for a future hope. This is what Jochebed does when she places Moses in the papyrus basket and sets him adrift in the Nile.
She had done all she could do. She leveraged all her talents and abilities to get Moses as far as she could. Now, she had to trust. That was her only hope in reaching the promise of God.
But nothing was certain. She was not entirely confident about how the future would unfold. Things progressed to the point that the only sure thing was that Moses would be crushed if she held on any tighter. Therefore, the only path was to let him go. Loosen her grip. Let God take it from there and rest.
For many of us, this is a difficult mindset shift, but it must be done. It is an action that is integral to growth and illustrates ownership and stewardship.
One moment, growth is quickened by care, discipline, and nurturing. It seems that our effort makes growth possible. The next moment, growth is only secured by letting go—by handing out and tossing the little stick in the creek.
This is important and hard, like the talents of the servants or the bread and fish of the little boy. True care comes in handing it back to Jesus.
To hold on is to look back (Luke 9:62), and when you grasp it tighter, you crush it.
“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
As for application here, this illustration can apply to parenting. But it can also apply to ministries and businesses. It can apply to our abilities, homes, or even finances.
There comes a time when growth will only come through the ultimate demonstration of ownership, which is to let it or them go.
Let God take it from here!
Additional Resources:
- Praying scriptures for your children: Download a free list of verses and get daily prompts to help you strategically pray scripture for your children.Click here to access that resource now.
- Raising Boys in a Virtual World. In today’s world, boys are growing up surrounded by screens, video games, and digital distractions. How can parents guide them toward godly manhood? In this episode, Leslie Nunnery welcomes Mark Hancock, CEO of Trail Life USA, to dive deep into the challenges boys face today and how parents can intentionally disciple them.
Click here to listen now. - This month’s TTD365 Member workshop is about The Joy Of Missing Out, Creating Space for What Matters Most. This was a response to countless conversations Leslie had with TTD parents at events this season who feel trapped in obligations and are concerned that they aren’t going in the direction they believe God would have them go– but they don’t know how to change course. Click here to watch that video now.
