Fear of Letting Go

Written by Elsie Revange

Fear is a common thing. You might have a fear of heights, bugs, clustered spaces, etc. My biggest challenge in this season is the fear of letting go. There are three main reasons why you and I, might have a fear of letting go.

Reason 1: Trauma. What is trauma? Trauma is a deep, disturbing experience. Trauma can either be from a past or a current experience. Another word for trauma is to be wounded. I get attached to small details that have had or are positively impacting my life. I get attached because those small details never stuck with me when I was younger. There was always a problem I was facing, whether it was problems at home, school, or having depression and anxiety. All these complications in my life caused me to become wounded. Now, when something good happened to me, I would hold on to that “good” thing and try to keep it as long as possible. I feared that If I let this go, nothing good would ever happen to me again. You’re probably dealing with some trauma of your own. You’re probably holding on to some partially good things that have also happened in your life. God declares that there is a time and place for everything.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV) “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”.

Ecclesiastes 3:6 (NIV) “a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away”.

• What are you keeping that you should be throwing away?

• What type of past or current trauma are you dealing with that you need to let go of?

Try to acknowledge what it is and give it to God. Reason 2: Not trusting in God Many of us have a hard time trusting God; in most cases, the activities we are trusting God in either take too long or do not go the way we expect. When situations in our lives become too much to handle or not change, we start to doubt God. We start to question God and ask him why? God reminds us not to lose courage and to place our trust in him.

Proverbs 3:5 (NIV) “Trust in the lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding, seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take”.

I don’t know how long or difficult your circumstances may be, but I do know God says to trust him, and he will show you the way. Reason 3: Comfortability/ Being Familiar I believe being too comfortable in a position for a long period of time restrains you from moving forward. An example of this would be in the book of Exodus. When Moses was done rescuing the Israelites from being slaves to the Egyptians, they entered the dessert and faced many hardships. The Israelites said they would rather be slaves to the Egyptians than die in the desert. In other words, they would rather turn back to what they were familiar with than let go as well move on and witness what God had intended for them. I had lost multiple opportunities in my life due to comfort. I was afraid of letting go because I chose my comfort and stuck with what I was familiar with over the discomfort and what truly lay ahead.

• What are you comfortable/ familiar with that is restraining you from letting go? Is it a job position? Is it a relationship/ friendship? Is it the environment you are in?

A word of encouragement, things come and go. Whatever God has for you will come to pass. In the meantime, let go and let God do what he has to do in your life. The moment you let go is the moment God can truly bless you abundantly!