A man had been training to do a sponsored parachute jump to raise money for a charity. The day arrived when the training was completed and the jump was scheduled. Climbing in to the aeroplane was much easier than jumping out! Although the man had received all the training, when he was finally positioned for the jump, holding on to the bar of the plane, fear gripped him as he surveyed the open space he was to jump in to. He was not going anywhere unless he let go. Finally, he let go and jumped. He had to trust that what he had learnt “in school” was as true for him as many others had proved it to be. He looked up and saw the canopy above him, terror was replaced by awe and wonder as he was carried safely down to earth by his parachute. The event would have been aborted if he had not LET GO.

If I need to prove God in my circumstances, the Lord will bring me to the place in the trial of my faith where I need to LET GO and trust Him. As I surrender, let go of control, take my hands off, abandon myself to trust God, I discover that God is who He says He is. Malachi 3:10 “Prove me now, says the Lord of hosts…” He is God Almighty, the All Sufficient One. He holds ALL power and has everything to meet my needs. All my struggles are rooted in the fact that I won’t let go. Surrender is always “in the now”. It is an on-going process of learning to trust God. The parachutist had to jump in complete abandonment and then he was carried to earth by his chute. As we abandon ourselves to the Lord we discover that He carries us with His “Everlasting Arms”. Deut.33:27 “The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

We prove the faithfulness of God more and more as we trust Him. HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS…..AND HE CANNOT CHANGE! Malachi 3:6 records God’s declaration, “I am the Lord, I do not change….”

We may have circumstances in our lives that we dislike and would love to change. We struggle to marry up the word of God, “The joy of the Lord is your strength,” Nehemiah 8:10, to our circumstance. The secret is that I have to bow my understanding of situations to the following truth: My heart does not have a contentment with my circumstances, but with the fact that my Heavenly Father, who loves me so much, is in the “driving seat” and is in full control. This is where my joy is, in Him! The joy of God is independent of my circumstance, it is in Him and in the knowledge of His love for me. This is my strength, and yes, my joy! It’s all about HIM! He is the only One who causes and teaches me to dance and sing in the “wilderness” periods of my life. It is here where I learn to trust Him, sheltered in His loving hand. It is holy ground. I discover that He is the joy and essence of my day, not my circumstance. The peace of His presence is my goal, not to understand everything. His peace that He gives me does not lie in my circumstance, but in Him, the God of my circumstance. Philippians 4:7 “The peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

In Galatians, Paul teaches that if we are Christ’s, then we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. A child is under tutors and governors until the “time appointed” of the father. We are sons and heirs of God through Jesus Christ. We have received the adoption of sons. (Galatians 3:29 – 4:1-7) The Holy Ghost is our tutor and we can learn quickly if we stay humble. I can choose to come the hard way, (my way), or God’s way, the yielded way. Yielding to the Lord makes it easy when I am yoked to Him. Jesus says, “Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and LEARN OF ME, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light,” Matthew 11:28-30. As we learn to LET GO we discover the “set times” of God in our daily lives. Delay is not denial, but divine appointment!