Let Go of the Outcome

 

The most significant cause of misery, unhappiness, disappointment and frustration in my life has been my propensity to predetermine how things should turn out.  I never really thought of myself as a control freak, but looking back that’s pretty much how it all turned out.  I would always script my life with notions like; if I do X then Y will be the result.  If Z or A was how things turned out, I took an emotional nose dive.

 Wanting life on my terms has always been counter productive, because I’ve never could manage the disappointment associated with reality.  Things simply don’t always go our way.  There are just too many variables.  Still, I don’t advocate letting go of the outcome because life has defeated me into submission.  That is foolishness.

 Letting go of the outcome is a matter of faith.  I am absolutely convinced that God is in charge.  He is presenting us with tailor made circumstances that lift, teach, stretch and strenthen us.  He doesn’t interfere with our choices, but if we choose to accept life as it comes, we come to get the most out of life’s experience and thus find joy in the journey.

This week a friend and I have been earnestly praying in behalf of a child at the Detention Center, where we both volunteer.  This little girl has built big walls around herself.  We have worked diligently to reach her, but so far had failed miserably.  Sunday, we were really seeking a breakthrough.  When Sunday came I came down with the flu.  My friend went alone and the breakthrough came in a magnificent way.  Would I like to have been there for it?  Sure.  Do I wish I had witnessed her opening up and finally offering some trust?  Absolutely.  Is it possible that, had I been there, she wouldn’t have felt comfortable opening up, trusting?  Yes.  Is it possible, that in God’s plan for this sweet girl, God took me out of the picture?  I not only think it’s possible, I think it is likely.  Am I disappointed?  No, I am filled with gratitude that God has found a way to help us reach her.  I would hate knowing some day that I stood in the way of her progress. 

Making such discoveries, without trying to control them, has brought me more joy than just about anything I’ve experienced.  Had I scripted this circumstance, I’d have cast myself in the starring role.  I’d have scripted a miraculous transformation in the life of this child, and I’d have expected the glory that such an achievement would deserve.  I’d probably have failed, crashed into a depressed slump, wasted a week in a pitty party and worst of all, prevented God from reaching out to a precious daughter.  Instead, it all worked out wonderfully and God gets the glory.

More on that word deserve.  All my life I’ve told myself that if I do X, I deserve Y.  I had this sense of entitlement.  I have made a wonderful discovery in the realization that I don’t deserve anything.  All of life is a gift.  A precious gift from God.  I am nothing of myself.  My strength, my intellect, my prosperity, my personality, my circumstances, even the air that I breathe, are gifts from a loving Heavenly Father.  I can make choices as to how I use those gifts, but ultimately, those choices entitle me to nothing.  Why?  Because I am in His debt.  No matter how I try to pay Him back, I’ll always fall short of evening the score.  We are not given these gifts because we deserve them, they are freely given and judiciously taken away.

Giving up on my entitlement to any given outcome, has been the most emancipating thing that has ever occurred in my life!

Take Action:

Here are some suggestions to help you let go:

1. Count your blessings.  Spend some time each day being grateful.  As Corrie Ten Boom suggests in her book The Hiding Place, you’ll even want to be thankful for the feas (unpleasant things) in your life.
2. Go beyond believing in God and start believing God.  Practice trusting Him.
3. Observe your outcomes.  Don’t judge them, just spend some time being fully aware of them.
4. Select an outcome from your own life, which turned out both different and better than you expected.  Ponder it.
5. Consider, with eager anticipation, where God will take your life next.  Don’t you love a nice surprise?
6. Keep yourself available. 
7. Stop directing God around the universe and start taking direction from Him.  In the words of the Alcoholic’s Prayer, “Lord, what you have me do?  Give me the strength to do it.”