5 Ways to Let Go and Let God Handle It

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What does it mean to let go and let God? 

I never imagined I would find so much controversy surrounding quotes as hopeful as, “let go and let God”. If you look around the internet, though, that’s what you’ll find. For some, it seems to imply an irresponsible or passive approach to faith. To others, it is the essence of faith. With trust being an ongoing conversation in these parts I thought it would be fitting to explore the let go and let God scripture in the Bible and hone in on the actual let go and let God meaning.

We all have things we need to let go of in our lives. We have just as many questions about how to get to a place of acceptance and letting go. We’re wondering:

• How to let go of the past.
• How to let go of someone who hurt you (or something that hurt you).
• How to let go of anger.
• How to let go and let God fix your marriage.

How do I surrender to God and let go? 

This post is for anyone here who can relate; anyone stuck in that place of tug-of-war, between wanting to move forward and not knowing how. You’ll learn how to give it to God and let go so you can move forward and overcome.

What Does It Mean to Let Go and Let God?

For those of you who have equated letting go with the poor sportsmanship of giving up, I want to encourage and forever set the record straight. Letting go is not the same as giving up.

Letting go and letting God is NOT an excuse to live passively. It’s not about exempting ourselves from personal responsibility or simply taking life by the seat of our pants.

The quote, “Let go and let God” instructs us to let go of the things in our lives that are out of our control. It means not fighting in our own physical strength but instead; trusting and leaning into God’s might. It’s the type of surrender that invites God to do the work only a sovereign God can do. I love how beautifully these lyrics reflect that. 

As soon as I stop worrying
Worrying how the story ends,
I let go and I let God – Let God have His way
That’s when things start happening
I’ll stop looking at back then
I let go and I’ll let God have His way”

– Let God and Let God lyrics by Dwayne Woods

When we “let go” it’s not to run from the problem, hurt, or pain we are experiencing; it’s to transfer ownership of the problem to the One who can actually lead us through it. You’ve heard the phrase, “Let God fight your battles,” right? That’s what it means to let go and let God. In these next few moments, we’re going to outline how to do this; how to let go and let God take over. But first let’s answer one more important question.

Why Do I Have Trouble Letting Go?

If you’re reading this article, my guess is this isn’t your first time trying to let go of something that no longer belongs in your life.

Relationships.
Conflicts.
Bitterness and Unforgiveness.
Anger.
Control.

We all have things in our lives that have threatened our peace and caused a lot of pain. That’s part of why we want to give them up. Yet even though we know it’s the healthy thing to do, we find ourselves struggling to let go. Sometimes it’s a matter of not knowing how. It’s a process to learn how to let go.

What I’ve found in my life to be the more accurate reason that I’ve held onto things longer than I should have is that I felt like when I removed myself from situations I also removed any aspect of control or influence I had in those situations. As someone who likes to be in the driver’s seat, that’s hard for me.

Some people have trouble letting go because they’ve allowed that conflict, relationship, hurt, or stress to become a part of their identity. When we reach that point letting go is painful.

And then there are others who feel like letting go is giving up and they refuse to become someone who quits. This is often the mindset of someone struggling with how to let go of someone they love like a romantic partner, family member, or a friend they thought they’d have forever.

We have to learn how to let go and move on so that we can keep ourselves available for the work that God has for us. It starts with learning how to let go of control. You’ll learn how in 5 basic steps shortly.

For now, let’s move forward into what it actually means to let go and let God handle it.

What Does God Say About Letting Go?

Learning how to let go and let God is the gateway to living freely and peacefully in Christ.

God says, “cast your cares on me.” (1 Peter 5:7) 

Don’t be anxious. (Philippians 4:6)

He says, “there’s a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away.” (Ecclesiastes 3:6)

He says to resist the devil and his temptations. (John 8:32) Sometimes the temptation to hold onto what we need to let go of is the devil’s way of keeping us from freedom in Christ. We need to surrender. We need to let go.

How Do I Let God Take Over? Here are 5 Practical Steps.

How do I give control to God? 

This is one of those questions I can spend forever overthinking. Can you relate? It sounds so much more complicated than it really is. If you’re an overthinker like me, or simply someone who values simplicity – and you want to know how do we give our burdens to God – these next steps are going to be life-giving for you.

We’ve talked about what it means to let go. Now we’re going to work through how to let go of control and practical ways to put the phrase, “let go and let God” to work in your life.

1. Recognize when you are overreaching.
2. Talk to God about it.
3. Surrender your worries and emotions.
4. Stand On God’s Words.
5. Practice Gratitude

Recognize where you’re overreaching.

The majority of the time our worry, stress, and frustrations are the self-inflicted result of us trying to control things that are outside of our control. This is an especially unhealthy dynamic in marriages and family relationships that causes a lot of hurts. I remember the day God put me in my place and reminded me that I am not my husband’s Holy Spirit. That was key for letting God heal my marriage. He’s had to tell me the same thing in regard to my kids. I can demonstrate, walk-in, train up my children according to the Bible, but ultimately obedience is their choice. I can demand it while they’re under my roof, but they could also choose to rebel. I’ve had to learn to recognize what is within my reach and what is not. When it’s not within my reach or control the wisest thing I can do is admit that, and lean into the Lord.

Maybe you’re asking, how do we know when God is telling us to let go of something? The Bible verses mentioned above give us a few hints.

• Are you weary? Are you feeling burdened? That’s a sign you need to lean into God’s strength (see Matthew 11:38-30).
• Have you lost sight of what God is working in your life? Have you lost track of His voice? That’s a sign that you’re too consumed by the worries of this world and need to set your eyes back on the Lord (see Colossians 3:2).
• Are you lacking internal peace? That’s a sign that you’re fighting too much in your own strength and need to come back under the guidance of the Lord (see Isaiah 26:13).

Recognize when you’re over reaching and write it down in your prayer journal.

Find printable prayer journal pages here.

Pray. Talk to God about it.

“To pray is to let go and let God take over.” – Anonymous

A mentor of mine once told me, “prayer is the most productive response we can have to conflict.” I know it seems passive. I know our minds, our flesh, our pride are hounding us to “do something.” Take that energy and pour it into prayer. You will always be disappointed if you expect peace and intimacy to be the result of your efforts to control what you already know you can’t control. His peace is the fruit of abiding in Him. Intimacy, peace, victory; that all starts with an honest conversation. 

What battles are you fighting right now? What obstacles are you struggling to work through?

Marriage.
Finances.
Fear.
Family tensions.
Temptation.
Your Past.

We spend countless hours worrying about these things, trying to handle them in our own strength and wisdom. Most of us are at a place where we can readily admit, it doesn’t work. So what’s the real solution? Bring your worries to God.

Give your worries and emotions to God

Our emotions are a sign that there’s something going on in our world and in our soul that we need to deal with. They aren’t sinful, but our response to them can be.

In John 16:33 Jesus said, 

These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.

In Matthew chapter 28 He tells us we can give Him our burdens. When we do this He can walk us through them from a place of victory. 

Can I be real? Even though I KNOW my worries are better off in God’s hands, I have this silly habit of “checking in” on Him and trying to micromanage what I was supposed to surrender. Isn’t that silly?

If we’re serious about healing we have to learn how to let go of our emotions and worries so that they aren’t in the driver’s seat. They can’t be calling the shots. If they do, we will never heal. To actually let go and let God deal with it we have to be willing to leave our worries at His feet and be disciplined enough to know not to pick them up again. We let Him do what He always does. Sustain. Redeem. Deliver. In His own perfect way and in His own perfect timing. 

For a lot of us, this means learning how to forgive. 

For even more of us, it means learning how to let go of anger and work through it without stepping out of godly character. 

Another skill to pick up is learning how to let go of bad thoughts. The next tip will also help some with that.

Stand On God’s Words.

When we’re truly surrendered to Jesus and clinging to Him there isn’t room in our hands to pick up more than He is asking us to. Cling to Him, not control. Stand on His words, not your emotions. Set boundaries that prioritize loving God and loving others; instead of boundaries that are motivated by fear. Danny Silk wrote a book that has been so helpful to me in this area, it’s called Keep Your Love On. But again, the real glue here is prayer. It’s nearly impossible to trust someone you aren’t in communication with. This same principle applies to trusting God. When we aren’t communicating with Him it’s easy to get lost in confusion. Cultivating a steadfast prayer life will help create the intimacy and trust you’re seeking to establish in your relationship with God.

Practice Gratitude

Gratitude reminds us that God is active in our lives. He is actively providing, actively loving, and actively guiding. When we begin to recognize the variety of ways He engages in our lives it’s so much easier to stand in faith for the next thing. In addition, it becomes easier for us to identify God’s movement in our lives. When our eyes are open to how much He loves and how much He gives, we can’t help but want to love Him back.

We begin to trust Him. We begin to experience His peace.

Here are some simple ways to practice gratitude in everyday life:

• Praise and worship.
• Start a gratitude journal (these coloring pages are perfect for that!). Make a daily list of things you’re thankful for.
• Make a habit of speaking about the things you’re grateful for.
• Keep a gratitude jar. Each day, write down a blessing you experienced or something you’re thankful for on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. When you feel overwhelmed, empty the jar and remind yourself of all the ways God and others have loved and blessed you.

Simple Let Go and Let God Prayer

How do you pray and let go?

Prayer is one of those things that strength comes from being sincere over being eloquent. So when approaching God with topics as delicate as surrender keep two things in mind: simplicity and sincerity. It could be as simple as, “God, I need you to take control here,” “Jesus, lead me,” or “Holy Spirit, have your way.”

I love that simple prayer that we see all over social media, I think it’s called the Serenity Prayer. It was written by Reinhold Niebuhr, a theologian of the 1930s.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

There are no right or wrong words. We talk about this from a biblical standpoint in A Woman’s Guide to Steadfast Prayer. God knows your heart. He is more concerned about the humility of our hearts than anything else. So when you’re ready to give it to God all you have to do is approach Him sincerely and tell Him, “God, it’s all yours. Help me be at peace with what you are working on. Show me how to honor you the next steps you have me take.”

I like to keep track of these prayers in a prayer journal so I can look back at them every now and then and be reminded of how faithful God is and the many times He came through for us. My friend LeeAnn created a printable prayer journal specifically for this! If you don’t have a prayer journal, a normal piece of notebook paper works just as well. Keep them in a keepsake box and come back to them when you need a little dose of hope.

Letting Go and Trusting God

A moment ago we talked about surrender. It was #1 of the 5 steps of letting go and letting God take over.  I want to caution you to keep an eye out for a pattern and temptation that tends to show up after we surrender. A lot of times we make the decision to surrender a concern or area of our lives to God without considering that surrender might mean we don’t see the outcomes we are hoping for.

When this reality sets in it can be all too tempting to try to take back what we have laid at Jesus’ feet. Friend, be courageous.

Do not pick up what God has prompted you to lay down. Hold fast to God and His peace. Another relevant quote I’ve seen floating around the internet is, “give it to God and go to sleep.” I can’t tell you how helpful that advice has been in my life. We have to learn to let go and let God handle it. 

Surrender is an ongoing process. We have to commit to it. For many of us, that will mean re-framing our beliefs, perspectives, and thought processes to reflect what scripture has to say about God’s goodness, sovereignty, and justice. It’s a Romans 2:12 reality.

Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2

What else does this mean? It means you’re going to have to sink your teeth into the meat of scripture and let it transform your heart and mind. 

It’s so tempting to want to be the ones in control of our lives. The ONE thing God has given us the authority to control is ourselves, and even then we honor Him best when we allow Him to lead us; move when He says move, wait when He says wait, and follow where He leads.  

Let’s aim to be women-led by the spirit of the Lord.

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Not Sure Where to Start? These Tools Can Help You Take Your First Steps!

My friend Jessie from Pray With Confidence is sharing ten practices that helped her get to know the God of the Bible and trust Him with big and small issues of life. Find them all in her How to (Actually) Let Go and Let God Prayer Journal!

This 9-week Bible Study for wives only with marriage mentor Tiffany Montgomery will guide you through the process of how to let go and let God fix your marriage. 

Let Go and Let God Guided Devotional Journal is a topical prayer journal that includes lists of applicable Bible Verses, prayer prompts, and journaling pages aimed to help you focus on pursuing God and trusting Him with the parts of your life He’s asked you to surrender.

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