PASTOR’S CORNER: Peace through release

I read a story about a young woman named Kayla. Her brow furrowed as she shoved another slip of paper into an overstuffed box labeled “Give it to God” on all four sides. These were written prayer requests she had placed in the “Give it to God” box.

“I read them out loud almost every day,” she said to a friend. “How can I be sure God hears me?”

Her friend handed Kayla her Bible. “By trusting that God keeps His word,” she said, “and letting go every time you write or read a prayer you’ve RELEASED into His hands.”

That’s it, somebody! The best medicine a Christian can ask for — and it comes directly from heaven. Our peace is in our release! So if you want peace this morning, then release!

Holding on to things that rob us of our peace and joy shows that we may not be trusting God as we should. And that’s what it boils down to: TRUST!

When you trust something — or somebody — you don’t worry about it. If I trust my car, I’m not worried while I ride in it. I just get in, trust that it will take me where I want to go, and ease on down the road. If I trust the bed I lie in at night, I go to sleep and rest peacefully. If I trust my wife or my husband, I don’t scroll through their phone when they’ve been gone all day, wondering who they’ve been talking to—I trust them. If I trust my doctor, I take the medicine they prescribed for me. I trust my employer that if I do an honest day’s work, I’ll receive an honest day’s pay.

The word “trust” in the Bible means relying on God — meaning that as long as we walk with Him, we can trust that what He has for us is the best thing for us, even when we don’t understand. It is comforting to know that no matter where we are or what we are doing, we can put our trust in God, knowing He is there for us.

Trust is earned, but with God, it is given.

Kayla, the young lady we just read about, wrote out her prayer requests and put them in her “Give it to God” box. She read them aloud to God. Then she asked her friend, “How can I be sure God hears me?” Her friend answered, “By trusting that God will keep His word.”

If she really believed that — that God will keep His word—then her release of those prayer requests would bring her peace.

Perhaps this morning, someone reading this has the same question. You may not have a “Give it to God” prayer box, but you’ve prayed about something or someone and still don’t have peace about it. You still think about it. It still gives you a headache. It causes unrest. You wake up with it on your mind. You toss and turn in the middle of the night. It pops up during the day.

You worship God at church and feel good in the moment, but when the dust of worship settles, this thing still lingers in your spirit. The sea billows still rage. The waves of this burden rise up again and trouble you. You say, “I’m not going to worry about it,” but the sting of it keeps needling you — and your peace of mind is threatened.

Maybe it’s because you’ve prayed, but you haven’t released. There’s a difference.

See, you can hold something up to God in prayer, but as long as it’s in your hand, it’s still attached to you. But if you RELEASE it, you are FREE of it. When you release something, you let it go. That’s what somebody needs to grab hold of today: as long as we’re holding something or someone in our hands, we’re still connected to it. But the moment we RELEASE it—we are free of it.

And here’s the thing: God can’t do anything with it until we release it!

We have to change our thinking, saints. The Lord is speaking to us today. The truth of the matter is—somebody reading this doesn’t have true peace this morning. Something is troubling your spirit. Even though you go to church, you don’t have real peace.

Community, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). Your peace is in your release!

I hear people say all the time, “I’ve given it to the Lord…” But we’re not always telling the truth when we say that. Oh, we’ve prayed about it—because certain people and things are on our hearts. We hold it up to God … but we haven’t RELEASED it.

And we know we haven’t, because it’s still on our mind all the time. We’re stressed. Deep down, we don’t truly believe that God is going to do what we’ve asked Him to do. We’ve held it up — but we haven’t let it go.

Our peace comes in our release.

We can make it as long as we have peace.

Friends, God is not a man that He should lie. When we find ourselves getting anxious over something or someone, call their names out to God. Hold them up to Him—and then release.

The cross says I can release. I believe that God will do what He said.

If you want peace, then release.