Let Go and Let God

Let Go and Let God

It’s likely that just about every spiritual seeker struggles with a concept that—even though it makes sense to them and even though they agree with it in theory—remains hard to put it into practice. 

For me it’s letting go and letting God. For years I’ve joked that I’m more of a hold-on-and-let-me kind of person. I think I understand letting go and letting God. I even wrote about it for last year’s Lent booklet produced by Unity. I agree letting go and letting God is a good thing to do and often suggest people do it. And yet I struggle with it. 

So I’m not at all surprised to find myself in a situation that gives me the perfect opportunity to practice letting go and letting God.  

Generally, if one wants to develop spiritually, navigating the complexities of health insurance companies and doctors’ offices provides fertile ground in which to grow. In my case, I’m trying to get routine outpatient surgical procedures approved. I’ve been at it for months, having begun the appeals process after the initial request was denied last year. Since then, I’ve been stuck in a morass of voicemail trees (somehow the listed options are never quite what I need), messages that are not returned, precious minutes wasted being stuck on hold, hearing, “Your call is very important to us. Please continue to hold,” on an interminable loop. 

I provided all the necessary documentation. I made calls and left messages. I learned more about diagnostic codes and Byzantine approval procedures than I had ever hoped to know.  

After all that effort, my calls were still not returned. Somehow every live person I was able to reach was someone who could not help me. The doctor’s office blamed the insurance company for the denial. The insurance company blamed the doctor’s office for not submitting the request according to their specifications. 

I was losing my patience and getting more flustered by the day. I asked myself if I was doing everything I could to help myself spiritually. I wanted peace and figured the best way was to let go and let God. I decided not to pursue the matter for a while, figuring if I backed off from trying to force a result, one might unfold naturally. No dice.  

What Does It Really Mean to Let Go and Let God?

That’s when I realized that inaction doesn’t mean I have let go. It really just means I’m procrastinating and avoiding taking constructive action. It also doesn’t mean I’ve shifted into the letting God part.  

Letting God doesn’t mean being passive and waiting for a resolution, nor does it mean relying on something outside myself to work it all out for me. But it does mean approaching life, especially troubling situations, from a spiritual perspective. If I’m being honest, I hadn’t really done that either. 

In addition to meeting life’s conditions from a spiritual perspective, letting God means being a channel for God’s grace when patience is wearing thin. It’s acting upon sudden inspiration when it feels as though every option has been exhausted. It’s remembering there’s always something for which to feel grateful, even when more feels wrong than right. 

With that understanding, I knew where to start. I packed my patience and got back on the phone. I met delays with prayer. I met irritation with forgiveness. I met intractability with patience. I met inertia with determination. 

I’m still waiting for the surgery to be approved, but I no longer feel overwhelmed and defeated by the obstacles I’ve encountered. Letting go and letting God helps me keep this situation in perspective. I still don’t know how it will resolve, but I now feel in control of how I approach it and open to it resolving in a way I can’t imagine. 

I invite you to let go and let God, especially if you’re struggling with a trying situation. Remember that as a spiritual being, you can meet life from a higher perspective, calling upon your many divine gifts and knowing that with God, you are never alone. Letting go and letting God isn’t giving up or abdicating personal responsibility. It’s an act of faith and trust, a way to live the truth that God is with and within us always. 

This was a Daily Word editor’s letter. To subscribe to Daily Word, please visit https://shop.unityonline.org/subscribe.