Sermon (July 7) "Let it Go!"

 

     You’ve probably heard of the phrase, “Let go and let God.”  Perhaps you have shared this phrase with somebody who needed a little reminder that things were going to be OK. Or maybe you have been on the receiving end in hearing those words.

     Today’s Old Testament reading from II Kings is a “let go and let God” story.  It’s a story that’s especially helpful for those of us who find it difficult to trust in a God who can make all things new.

     You’ve heard the story.  Maybe you were already familiar with it.  It’s about a foreign military officer who has the terrible skin disease of leprosy.  An Israelite girl who had been captured and forced to serve as this officer’s slave tells him about a prophet in Israel who can heal him of this dreaded disease. The officer tells his King about this and the King sends a letter and gifts to the King of Israel with a request to heal his military officer, Naaman.

     But when the King of Israel receives the letter, he immediately panics. He begins to think about the worst case scenario. “What if we can’t heal this foreign officer of his skin disease? Will this lead to an unwanted war? Is this whole thing just a set-up? Who does this King think I am? God?”

     Have you ever played this game of thinking of possible worst case scenarios? It’s the kind of game that can keep you up at night. It’s the kind of game that can replace your faith with fear. What if the test results come back positive? What if they don’t accept my bid? What if we don’t get enough volunteers? What if they cut my hours?

     I find it interesting that the King of Israel’s first response to the request to heal Naaman was one of fear. Part of the problem is that we just don’t like to deal with change. We all know that each day will have its own challenges.  I’m sure the King already had a lot to worry about for that day.

     Maybe he was worried about relations with a bordering empire. Maybe he was trying to figure out how to deal with a drought in the land. Maybe there was some other huge problem he was dealing with when this letter arrived. Instead of responding to this request by turning toward God for help and direction, he became fearful and went into panic mode.

     The King wasn’t letting go of the things that were beyond his control. What are the things that God is calling you to let go?

     I’ll never forget my first Easter Sunday as a new pastor.  I was so nervous. Even after several hours of preparing the sermon, I kept reworking it over and over again and when it was all said and done, I realized that my first draft was perfectly fine. Instead of worrying so much about the sermon, I could have used that time to enjoy being with my family.

     I was also concerned about the number of bulletins because of the larger crowd we were going to have.  And then I worried about where the Easter lilies were going to be placed around the altar. Our flower volunteer had already set them up and I asked if she could arrange them differently which she graciously did.

     As I looked at the new arrangement from the view of the balcony, I said, “You know, actually, the way you had them before looked nicer.”  I am so glad that this woman was a Christian because anyone else would have made me wear one of those Easter lilies as a hat.

     Knowing that I was worrying way too much about my first Easter Sunday, she calmly approached me and with a disarming smile, she gently said to me, “Robert, you just need to let go and let God.”  She was so right.  I needed to let go and let God.

     I know I’m not the only one who needs to hear those words. We all need to hear those words from time to time, even if you’re the King of Israel.

     Another man in this story who needed to hear those words was Naaman, the military officer who needed to be healed.  Now, we might give him a little slack. After all, he wasn’t even from Israel and didn’t know about their God.

     But when the prophet Elisha tells him that what he needed to do to be healed was to wash in the Jordan River seven times, Naaman became angry because this all seemed so unnecessary. His servants eventually calm him down and he ended up listening to Elisha and he was healed.

     Sometimes, God’s ways just don’t make sense to us. But when we surrender our will to God’s will and do what God is telling us to do, wonderful things can happen. Beautiful things can happen.

     Key leaders of a church had gathered for a vision retreat. They already had a sense that God was calling their aging church to reach the children and young families of their community. 

     They came to this retreat with great excitement. They felt that this time away with God would reveal a specific program that would help them to have a thriving children’s ministry.

     They began their retreat with a time of prayer. They asked God to give them open minds and hearts to how God would lead them toward this vision.  After much time in prayer, the pastor invited everyone to share what kinds of ministries they felt God was calling their church to do.

     To the pastor’s surprise, nobody shared any ideas of specific children’s ministries. He thought someone would at least mention starting a new children’s Sunday School class but not even that idea was offered.

     Instead, someone started talking about an outreach ministry to the nursing home which was on the same block as the church. The pastor said that this was a great idea but they still needed to think of ways to reach the children in the community.

     As the retreat continued on, it became apparent that for whatever reason, God wanted their church to focus on that nursing home. Soon after the retreat, church members began holding mid-week worship services at the nursing home. They also visited the nursing home residents and they took them gifts and made cards for them.

     After several weeks and months of this intentional ministry at the nursing home, something incredible began to happen. Young children and their families started attending worship at their church.

      The reason they started to attend their church was because they were the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those nursing home residents. Their regular visits to the nursing home had made such an impression on the families of the nursing home residents that they wanted to be part of a church that would reach out to their aging loved ones in such caring ways.

     Who would have thought that the way to reach children would be through a nursing home ministry?  God works in mysterious ways!

     Naaman didn’t think that washing seven times in the Jordan River would ever heal him of his leprosy, but that’s exactly what happened.  Our scripture even tells us that his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was made clean.

     It’s not always easy to let go and let God but when we do, wonderful things can happen. 

     I’ve been thinking of the things that might keep us from letting go and letting God. Here are just a couple that come to mind and you might think of some others this week.

     The first thing that comes to mind is control.  I think this was the King of Israel’s problem in the story. He was trying to control everything.  When he was presented with this request to heal Naaman, instead of turning toward God, he was only thinking about how he could control the situation. He wasn’t even thinking about the prophet Elisha and how God could work through him to bring about healing.

     If our only focus is on what we think we can’t do and not what God can do through us that might mean that we have control issues. God wants to use us but if we are closed to the possibilities that are beyond what we can imagine, we might miss out on what God wants to accomplish.

     The second thing that can keep us from letting go and letting God is pride. This was Naaman’s issue. He almost let his pride prevent him from receiving the healing that he so desperately needed.

     Fortunately for Naaman, his servants helped him to see how his pride was getting in the way. I really like how they caught up with him and said, “So what that this guy wants you to get dunked three times in the river. Just do it and see if that will heal you.”

     Sometimes, we get so caught up in our own agendas that we miss out on what God is wanting us to do.

     If the King of Israel and Naaman are examples of allowing control and pride to keep us from letting go and letting God, then the young servant girl and the prophet Elisha are good examples of what it means to let go and let God.

     The young girl knew that God could bring healing to Naaman even though he was an outsider and the prophet Elisha didn’t let fear get in the way of healing this military officer who was from a neighboring power.

     Sometimes, we just need to surrender and yield to God. That’s all we need to do.

     When I was in college, I reached a low point in my life.  I was trying to do everything my way and it was only leading from one disappointment to another. My own control and pride were getting in the way of the future that God had in mind for me.

     Without a sense of purpose and feeling really down, I finally decided to surrender all of who I was to God. I fell to my knees and I prayed, “God, forgive me for not allowing you to be number one in my life. From this point on, I want to do whatever you want me to do. I want to follow Jesus every day and be his disciple.”

     When I stood up from that prayer, it was like this huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. That’s what it feels like when you finally let go and let God.