Ok but HOW?!
As I searched the scripture to answer this question in a practical way I began to see the flaw in my thinking. There is no practical real answer to this. I searched the bible for passages about how to let things go and I got nothing. God doesn’t tell us to let things go, he says take them captive. The answer is not found in the flesh or in a fleshly response. The answer is spiritual. It has to do with the knowledge of God and the obedience of Christ. Notice those reference in the act of taking thoughts captive in the following passage:
“Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2 Cor 10:1-6)
Let us take special care to notice that the weapons we are to us are mighty in God, not in ourselves. The arguments ultimately are not against us but against the knowledge of God and finally that it is obedience TO Christ but obedience OF Christ. It is His obedience.
Weaponry
The weapons that are might in God are the armor of God. Remember these weapons are not of our making, they are the best quality, they will not fail, but we must put them on. The enemy wants you to fight him. Let me add some emphasis: He wants YOU to fight him. He is even willing to loose to you, just to teach you to fight him in your own strength. His goal is not to win but to keep you distracted from the truth. He doesn’t want you to put on the real weapons, the spiritual ones. Why do you think self-help books kinda work sometimes? Why do you think eastern religious practices have attraction? Why do false religions have elements of truth? How many times does it take to accidentally drop food off of a table for your dog to learn to beg at the table? Just once every 200 or so meals right? We want to fix it ourselves and usually, our fixes are incomplete and frustrating but even if they just kinda work every once in a while. It’s enough to keep us trying them. What God is telling us is that fleshly weapons don’t work against this enemy. So God has provided spiritual ones. Ones that work! Let’s walk through Eph 6:10-17:
“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
These weapons do not have your might in them. They are not dependent on you.
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
Pay attention to all of them not just your favorite or the one that works initially but put it all on.
“Gird your loins with truth.”
What did God tell us in 2 Cor 10? The attacks on us set themselves up against the knowledge of God and he is truth. They are false. Seek truth. Love truth. Reject lies.
“Put on the breastplate of righteousness.”
This is the kind of righteousness that is given to us by God. Jesus IS our righteousness (1 Cor 1:30). Do good works. Love Goodness. Reject selfishness and pride.
“Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”
Be fluent in the gospel that Jesus died for your sins and was resurrected for your salvation. Keeping this as your sure footing will ground you and make you ready to withstand or deal with attacks.
“Take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Faith is so very important in the armor. It is both a defensive weapon and essential for attacking and taking captives wrong thinking. Our faith and trust in Him allows His power to flow through us. He uses our faith to accomplish his purposes. Submit your will to His and reject doing things for your own glory. Walk in the faith you claim.
“Put on the helmet of salvation.”
Our thinking is shaped by our sanctification, protected by our justification and motivated by our glorification. We are often told that we should guard our thinking. But how do we do that? The battlefield of the mind requires that we kill and take captives. We are to kill our old thoughts, our old behavior, our old self. “Put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Col 3:5). How do we do this? We reckon ourselves to be dead to those things. They are separated from us, foreign to us, not of us anymore.
Take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The bible is the word of God, It never returns void. Jesus is the Word. The Holy Spirit inspired every word. The Father preserves it. We should read it and study it and commit it to our minds. It is the offensive weapon to take those thoughts captive and discern our soulishness from our fleshliness.
Bottom Line
Letting go is not a practical skill you can learn effectively. It is contrary to our fallen nature. It’s a spiritual activity. It is a warfare! If we engage this battle ourselves we will lose, we must trust in the things of the Lord. We must put them on and let God fight in us, to destroy us, to recreate us.
Anxiety and all evil thoughts set themselves up against the knowledge of God. So increase your knowledge and trust who you know. Then He will make your thoughts obedient to Christ.
by 