I’ve recently found myself in a place of being tempted to give up on an extremely difficult situation. At the same time, the Lord has impressed upon me through prayer, his word, and conversations with multiple people, that that is not the thing for me to do.

I knew that I needed to give up something in regards to this situation, though. If I wasn’t going to give up on the situation itself, I knew I had to let go of SOMEthing.

After a much-needed vacation, the letting go became clear. It wasn’t the situation that needed to be let go of. It was my inner stance before the problem.

It was my fear.

It was my lack of trust.

It was my sense of needing to control the situation.

Oh my goodness! It would’ve been a lot easier to just let go of the situation itself!

But, as Christ-followers, that’s not what we do. Did Christ let go of a hard situation?

Hang on, or let go?

Do you really have to make that choice?

It is possible to do both?

In her book, It’s All Under Control, Jennifer Dukes Lee proposes that gospel living isn’t an either/or question but a both/and.

And part of gospel living is hanging on. Now, of course, there may be times that we shouldn’t hang on. But, when we are hanging on to the right things (only you and God can determine when that is the case), here is Jennifer’s encouragement:

“Refuse to give in to the temptation to give up. Refuse to pray only for the hard to go away, Pray for a faith bigger than the hard. ‘Do not let y our hands be weak.’ Pray for hands that will grip tight when God tells you to hang on.

Hang on. Yes, it’s hard, but it might not be time to let go.

Hang on. You might be the miracle someone was praying for.

Hang on. This might be only a season, with relief around the corner.

Hang on. A great crowd of witnesses is cheering for you.

Hang on. When you hang on with bravery, you emotionally strengthen others who are struggling to hang on themselves. You’re showing them that it’s possible to do hard things.

Hang on. If you are uniquely positioned to do something to make the world a better place, even if it’s hard, you should do it.”

Only God can impress upon your heart when it’s truly time to let go. After reading Jennifer’s book, though, I did realize that even AS I’m hanging on tight to what I believe are the right things, there are things I need to be prepared to let go of. Here are some questions that Jennifer wisely asks:

“Am I hanging on because I’m afraid of what will happen if I don’t?

Am I hanging on because I don’t trust God as much as I trust myself?”

These two questions help to get to the heart of my purpose in hanging on. The answer to them may help show me whether I should continue to hang on. Or, perhaps, if I need to pray for a heart change.

Whether I’m hanging on for the right reasons or the wrong reasons (struggles with fear and lack of trust in God), there is a great exercise that Jennifer has practiced and proposed in her book.

Imagine everything you love attached to colorful balloons, flying high and out of sight. There are names on each ballon; maybe your husband’s name, your children’s names, a project, or even something you don’t love like a conflict.

“Let go of the balloons. Imagine Jesus sitting with you cross-legged at the end of your bed, as you let each one go. And then look closer. Imagine him holding the strings to all the balloons. They aren’t floating away. They are held steady in his hands.

For everything you’ve ever let go, Jesus is still hanging on.”

Even if we continue to “hang on” to something, we must be willing to let go of how we think it should all work out and, internally, let go to allow Jesus have his way as we turn from fear and trust in Him.

And if we find that we must really let go, ceasing to interact with a situation, we must be willing to do just that.

If we need help in either of these, we have a guide to fix our eyes upon.

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” -ESV

As Jennifer so eloquently reminds us:

“Jesus voluntarily let go of his place in heaven, hurling himself down through space and time to save a world begging for life. He did it for love. Jesus Christ let go of heaven to hang on to us.”

This month, I’ll be sharing four ways that Jennifer’s book, It’s All Under Control, has helped me recently. Comment on my blog and have a chance to win this book. I’m giving away one free copy to one subscriber who comments in October!

You can also get the book, It’s All Under Control, right here!

Learn more about Jennifer Dukes Lee here…

Linking up this week with these awesome bloggers!