Step 7- Letting Go and Preparing Yourself

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“These walls were not meant to shut out problems. You have to face them. You have to live the life you were born to live.”- Mother Abbess, The Sound of Music

No Root of Bitterness

Hebrews 12:14-17: Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

As the old saying goes, “you can’t drink poison and expect it to kill your enemy.” It took me a long time to understand that not forgiving people only hurts you. “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. Forgiveness breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.”-Linda Dillow, Calm My Anxious Heart

“The biggest unmet expectation is when we place the burden of our happiness or completion upon someone or something other than God.”- Marian Jordan Ellis

You have to make the choice to forgive whether you feel like it or not, and you may have to make that choice to forgive over and over again before you truly let it go. God is your righteousness. You can ask God to help you let it go each time something new comes to mind, and He is faithful. He will help you. Slowly but surely each link in the chain that holds you captive will break one by one. As you hand God each memory that haunts you, He will set you free. John 8:36: “So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” One day you’ll look back and wonder why you didn’t see so clearly before that you were only hurting yourself.

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” – C.S. Lewis

Remember the Lord is your righteousness. The funny thing is if you just stay near to God, He will mold and shape you without you having to do anything but cling to Him. The more time you spend relishing in His love for you, the more confident you will become in who He made you to be.

Meditate and Pray through Proverbs 31
Proverbs 4:25-26 (ESV): Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.

If you want to learn more about how to prepare yourself to one day be a wife of noble character, study Proverbs 31. Pray to possess these qualities and meditate on them.

 Compare the woman in Proverbs 5 to the woman in Proverbs 31


The Woman in Proverbs 5
The Woman in Proverbs 31
Her feet go down to death.  Her steps lead straight to the grave.
Her husband can trust in her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
For she does not care about the path to life.
She fears the Lord.
She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t even realize where it leads.
She is clothed with strength and dignity and she laughs with no fear of the future.
If men don’t run from her, they will lose their honor and hand over to merciless people everything they have achieved in life.
Her words are wise and kindness is the rule when she gives instructions.
In the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a doubled-edged sword.
She will not hinder her husband but help him all her life.

A prayer of letting go:

Give me the heart of a woman after your own heart. Heal me physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Be my righteousness, and help me let go of any root of bitterness springing up in my heart. Teach me to be reverent in behavior and to not be a slanderer. I ask that the discipline you are putting me through would yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Lift my drooping hands and strengthen my week knees. I’m striving for peace and holiness. I ask for your grace to be my stronghold. Let me run the race with endurance. I am considering the reproach of Christ greater than the treasures of a sinful lifestyle. 

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