Proverbs 16:3. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.
And the days fly by so quickly, that without us even realizing it, Sunday has come around again. That means going to God’s house to fellowship with other believers, renew our vows and build our confidence for the upcoming week. And sadly, some of us don’t really realize that the awesome benefit of going to church on a Sunday is not merely to sing and praise God, but also very importantly to receive His strength and blessings so that we can handle whatever comes against us in the week with the utmost faith and confidence. Our God isn’t so selfish to tell us to come to church every Sunday just to praise and worship Him. No! He also has something valuable and important to offer us.
So when we implore us to go to church, it’s because visiting God’s house is a two-way and not a one -way street. (smile) And we’ll open today’s worship with a beautiful song of praise titled ‘Let Go And Let God,’ written by Olivia Newton John, in tandem with the American pianist-composer Kim Bullard, and the Canadian singer-songwriter Amy Sky, who also produced it. The website songfacts.com, tells us that the song comes from John’s ‘Grace and Gratitude Album, which is filled with inspirational songs influenced by various religions. It is designed for meditation and healing, with instrumental interludes between songs.
Olivia Newton-John is (was) Christian, but is (was) open to the teachings of other faiths. Inspired by the writings of Deepak Chopra and Carolyn Myss, “Let Go Let God” is a song about finding strength through surrender, something Olivia Newton-John did after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. Her cancer returned in 2017 and again in 2020, but she remained resolute, telling The Guardian (newspaper): “I see it as my life’s journey. It gave me purpose and intention and taught me a lot about compassion.” She passed away in 2022 at 73.
About 90 seconds into the song, the Buddhist chant of “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” comes in. This mantra was developed by the monk Nichiren (1222–1282) to signify the human capacity to overcome challenges and grow from them. The chant is designed to activate this power.’ However, we’ll leave out the chant today, because it’s too difficult to pronounce and may cause some confusion. (smile) And now that we know the song’s origins and what it stands for, let’s sing it, offer up sweet sacrifices of praise, in a mid-tempo soulful version, that will touch the hearts of all who hear it in heaven.
Singing: ‘When you can’t find your direction, and your heart won’t guide you home – Let go – and let God. When your dreams are broken in the dust, and you’ve lost the will to trust – Let go – and let God. (Chorus: Let the signs remind you, we are passengers. Let the signs remind you to surrender, to surrender – Let go- and let God. (Background vocals – Chant… Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (4 times) When your faith is a dying fire, and there’s no spark to feed the flame – Let go – and let God. When your courage fails you, and the well of hope runs dry – Let go – and let God. (Chorus: Let the signs remind you, we are passengers. Let the signs remind you to surrender, to surrender – Let go- and let God. (Chant – Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (4 times) Let the signs remind you -to surrender, to surrender, to Let go – and let God, let go – and let God’
Ah friends, it definitely is an interesting song, filled with lots of faith and encouragement, but the major theme is total surrender to God, especially when you cannot find sufficient strength of your own to pull you up. And that’s wisdom in spades, for when you can’t handle a situation, the best thing is to turn to someone who can, as evidenced by Newton John’s own life’s journey. And our great God Jehovah can certainly handle any and every situation which may befall us.
Now, how do we surrender to God, you ask? This commentary succinctly explains it. ‘It involves seeking His guidance, following His Word, aligning our will with His, and relying on His promises. In this act of surrender, we find true freedom and peace. We release the burden of trying to figure everything out on our own and instead embrace the assurance that God is in control.’ I could not have put it any better myself friends. It’s all about giving our lives completely over to the Lord and allowing Him to lead and guide them. And we have a very relevant scripture from Cousin Sol that says it like it is: ‘Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.’ (Prov. 16:3)
And this commentary from the bibleref.com website enlightens us as to its meaning. ‘The best chance for success comes when plans are aligned with truth. That means those who submit to God’s will and seek Him are in a better position than those who ignore or reject Him. Following God is never a guarantee of earthly success (John 16:33).’ (Where Jesus tells us that in the world we will have trials and tribulations) ‘However, acting in accordance with truth and goodness removes many dangers from life (Proverbs 1:7; 13:20-22). When someone’s efforts are fully entrusted to God’s will and His control—when they are “committed” to Him—those labors are less likely to cause their own downfall.’
And to prove that surrendering to God is man’s best choice, we also have the same advice from Bruh David in Psalm 37: ‘’Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust in him, and he shall bring it to pass.’ (Ps. 37:5) And I like how the website bibleref.com uses the example of Abraham sending his servant to his relatives to search for a wife for Isaac. It says: ‘Abraham charged his servant with the formidable task of finding a bride for his son Isaac, and his servant was successful in the commission of the assignment. He did not depend upon his own intelligence or preference. He asked the Lord to guide him to the right person (Gen. 24:42-44). When he found Rebekah, the right person, he offered thanks to the Lord for guidance (Gen. 24:48). When he asked her parents for permission to take her to Isaac, he said, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way” (Gen. 24:56).’
It couldn’t get any clearer than that my faithful brethren. God is trustworthy right to the very end! And there are several other scriptures that advice us to put our absolute trust and faith in Almighty God, for we cannot ever go wrong by doing so. Thus, as bibleref.com further tells us: ‘When a believer sincerely depends upon the Lord for the understanding to do His will, he is not disappointed. Proverbs 3:5-6 counsels: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
And that’s the gospel truth my people! So let’s hope on this somewhat damp and cloudy Sunday morning in March of 2024, we will all heed those scriptural warnings, and wisely surrender our lives to our wonderful Creator, so that we can fully enjoy the abundant life that His awesome Son Jesus Christ died for us to have! Much LOVE!
…All to Jesus, I surrender…All to Thee I freely give…I will ever love and trust You…In Your presence daily live…
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