We have adopted an unscriptural custom— “Just let it go” or “Let it be.” We have purposely muffled people into silence by....

 

Silent Killer

I was recently told by a family member, a popular saying that is traditionally echo to silence someone. “Just let it go.” Too often this is the turbulent approach families use to deal with family problems and drama. “Just let it go.” Or, “let it be.”  But what does this accomplish? What does it really achieve when we choose to let something go that needs to be talked about, aired out?

Let It Go

Let it go is an American idiom meaning forget it, to stop worrying about it. Its alternative phrase, let it be, which means leave the situation alone as it is. But how does one forget or let go of something that is creating a major storm within a family circle? How do you let be when a family member betrays you? Or when a sibling acts unjustifiably envious? Or when a parent or trusted family member abuses you or fails to protect you from abuse, etc.? How do you let something so tragic go?

Manifesting Itself Clinically

In the medical field, the popular term silent killer is described as any condition that may progress to very advanced stages before manifesting itself clinically.

Just let it go is a fitting idiom that can be medically labeled as a silent killer. When a family member is forced to let something go instead of properly dealing with the root cause of a problem as the Bible encourages (Matthew 5:23, 24; James 4:1-3; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7), that person is victimize or feels they are a victim and slowly dies emotionally. This can lead to psychological and other health problems, e.g. alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual addictions and even suicide.

 

Greenstone

 

What Is Its True Source

If God’s word does not support, nor encourages acceptable practice of just letting a matter go. What is its source?

 

John 10:10 states that the devil’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. This silent killer, “Just let it go” or “Let it be”, has successfully fed into the fabric of our lives worldwide. Destroying individuals, breaking up families, even causing havoc in Christian's homes. The cultural acceptance and practice of letting things go is toxic. It leaves individuals feeling empty, isolated, emotional tormented, rejected, etc. At the same time, it fuels Satan’s ability to create dysfunctional family interactions.

 

Reconcile

At Matthew 5:23, 24, God’s word encourages a completely opposite interaction when addressing family dynamics. Matthew 5:23 encourages us, “Go and be reconciled to that person.” When one reconciles based on God’s word, His customs, and practices, one is brought back into fellowship or favor with another. David M. Allen, M.D., professor emeritus of psychiatry affirms, “If you change your approach to family members, it can force others to change their approach….”

 

Beg Borrow Steal Productions

 

Here’s the Assumption

Within our homes, churches, businesses and in our relationships, we have adopted an unscriptural custom— “Just let it go” or “Let it be.” We have purposely muffled people into silence by belittling or refusing to acknowledge the hurt we have caused someone else. Those who have created the problem have silence the victim by dismissing his or her claims. While those who have witnessed the problem, in a roundabout way, joined forces with the defendant, by echoing “Just let it go.” The assumption is, the problem will evidentially go away if you let it go.

 

Erroneous Understanding

In response to a blogger’s post to help those who have been ensnared by homosexuality, one anonymous commenter wrote, in his or her efforts to silence the blogger, the following.

 

"...When one claims has found peace from one homosexuality via 

religion, then why does on still cry out for help?" The commenter  

continues, "Nobody is perfect.... You will not heal by publicly  

slandering your mother."

 

Afshan Aziz

 

It was obvious from the blogger’s point of view, the anonymous commenter missed the point of the post as well as the entire scope of the blogger’s ministry.

 

God has not called us to a ministry where we keep silent, but a ministry where we proclaim the Good News by means of our personal testimonies. Luke 8:39 says in part, “declare how much God has done for you.” Also see Psalm 66:16 and Psalm 119:46.

 

King David spoke of his testimony, which included his failures. Paul referred to himself as the greatest sinner of them all because of his shortcomings (1 Timothy 1:15, 16). There are so many willing men and women in the Bible that God used, who forsake the demonic custom of being silent killers. Instead, they openly, publicly and willing shared aspects of their private lives with the world, in an open letter in God’s word in order to teach us. To provide us examples of how to live (Romans 15:4).

NAH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suiting Up For Battle

Ephesians 6:10 – "...Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power."

 Bulent Kilic (top left), Hosam Katan (bottom left) and Kit O'Connell (right) We all are familiar with the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. During modern times, the Middle East has experienced over 80 conflicts (e.g. uprising, massacres, coups, revolts, insurgencies, etc.), while taking the lives of millions of people. For some of us, similar to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, there is constant civil unrest in our lives. In response to this civil unrest, some of us have become masters at pretending, looking away from life’s problems, hoping that they will simple go away. Too many of us fail to acknowledge the real source or sources of the conflicts in our lives. Instead, we opt to take a mellow (laid-back) approach toward life problems, which leads to discontentment, unhappiness, depression - a defeated Christian life. Through our study series, Victories Don’t Come by Accident, part 2, Suiting Up For Battle, our heavenly Father wants to prove to this Life Group that this is not it. This is not the life He has for you. He is determined to prove to you that he has provided you everything you need to be victorious in this mangle world. Review the video link from last night’s lesson. Click here. Juan Pablo Di Pace, who played the role of Jesus in the TV series, AD The Bible Continues, made a simple, but very powerful statement in this clip.   “When the Holy Spirit comes to you. You will receive power.”   God gives us the power, His power, that we need to change our circumstances, to properly equip us to fight the battles that comes up in our lives. He provided us everything we need to FIGHT WELL AND WIN. Last night, we saw, when we CHOOSE to fight any of our battles without God or Holy Spirit, it is futile. Let that soak in for a minute by reading that again. When we CHOOSE to fight any of our battles without God or Holy Spirit, it is futile. It equates to going into a military conflict without the proper equipment. I cannot imagine any of you going off to fight in a military battle and leaving behind your gun, protective gear, radio for communication, etc. That’s exactly what we are electing to do each time we go into battle to deal with life problems without God. As we live out our lives from day to day, we often don’t recognize or realize there is a war going on in each of our individual world. In each of our lives, there is a strategic plan of action taken place to cause havoc in our lives. Everyday that you get up, the moment you step out of your bed, you step onto the battlefield. A battlefield that is invisible to the naked eye, but is real. A battlefield where there is   No cease fire No truce No cessation (break) of hostilities for the sole purpose of causing you to live a defeated and powerless Christian life, completely separated from God and His plan for you.   During last night Bible study, we only covered question #1 because it is vital that each of you understand the importance of preparation on your part before stepping onto your battlefield each day. Before you can properly get into your customized God’s suit of armor, you must get into His presence and prep for your day in His strength. That’s  what Ephesians 6:10 incites us to do, to “…be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” As we saw last night, being strong in the Lord requires us to have a waiting attitude. To wait in faith To wait patiently for the Lord God wants to show each one us   How to reverse our poor and inadequate planning for our part, against the personalize schemes and attacks on our lives Teach and show us how to prepare and fight well How to be victorious in every aspect of our lives This requires us to be not strong in ourselves – our inadequate attempts to solve our problems independent from God. But to be completely dependent on His provisions and resources, knowing that only God can solve our problems for us – all our problems for us. King David provided a very simple formula, if applied, that guarantees you to see the scene of your battlefield start to change in your favor. Even through the duration, the intensity of your battles may increase, the victory of each battle will become yours each time. Although King David speaks of his frustration of seeing the unrighteousness prosper in these verses, Psalm 37:1-8 can be applied to any problem in life. Below are just a few key words from those verses. V1 Don’t worry…neither be envious V2 Trust in the LORD and do good V4 Delight (commit) in the LORD V5 Commit everything you do in the LORD. Trust Him. V7 Rest (be still) in the presence of the LORD and wait patiently for him to act V8 Stop being angry. Turn from your rage. Don’t lose your temper. In closing, take a few minutes to journal in your notebook, areas in your life you need to learn to be more strong in the Lord. Areas where you need to learn to wait on Him in faith. Areas where you need to learn to rest in His might power. Next Monday, December 14, we will conclude, Suiting Up For Battle, by covering questions 2-5 from last Thursday’s Study Guide. I will resend the Study Guide on Thursday, December 10.