While we were in Niagara Falls traveling with Chalice this Spring we had a chance to spend some time at the falls. While we were there the younger boys, Steven and Evan, were exploring the park and found a few squirrels that were quite playful. These squirrels were so friendly that they would come right up to you and take food from your hand.

Now as a mom, all I could think of was, “Be careful. Don’t get bitten. You might get rabies.” But Steven was so amazed by this one squirrel. He had his mouth full of sticks and was trying as hard as he could to take the piece of candy Steven offered him. After much trouble the squirrel was finally able to grab the candy and keep all of the sticks and scamper up a tree to eat his treat.

While seeing this picture I thought of the old proverb: “you can’t have your cake and eat it too.” But that squirrel sure was trying hard.

It even made me think of how many people try to “eat their cake and keep it too.”

People want to have the eternal salvation God offers but not give up the ways of the world. Some Christians don’t want to give up their drinking alcohol, pornography, swearing, gossiping, lust, etc. They are hanging on to those ways because they like the way it feels, because their friends do it, because they just don’t see anything wrong with it, etc. You might even have another reason.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” Romans 12:2 (NLT)

We cling on to old stuff we have when God is trying to give us something sweeter, something better than what we’re hanging on to. Sometimes we’re holding on to it for dear life, like if we let it go nothing else will come our way that will even be close to what we had before.

Our humanness says, “Be careful. You might get bitten. You might fail. You might (fill in the blank).”

We must let go of what we’re holding on to before God can put anything else into our hands!

Here are a few examples: (names have no likeness to any real person or situation)

♦ Joe finds out that his job has been eliminated and he gets laid off. When he finds another job it’s even better than he had before, giving him a pay increase.

♦ John has owned his own business for many years but the business goes bankrupt. He starts another business that becomes a multi-million dollar business.

♦ Mr. and Mrs. Smith lose their house to foreclosure being unable to make the mortgage payments. The next house they buy is better than the one they had before and in a better neighborhood and their mortgage payments are lower.

♦ Pastor Bill feels like he’s been in a sinking ship at his church. Attendance is down. Giving doesn’t even meet the bills. The church decides to close and Pastor Bill begins to work for another church and many souls are saved through his ministry there.

In all of those situations we cling on to what we had, sometimes rebelling or becoming depressed over the situation. We have the attitude that we’ll stay until the ship sinks.

If we recognize that some of these situations could be God moving us into a different job, neighborhood or even church we don’t have to “go down with the ship” but instead we can move on without hesitation. We can release the old to obtain the new.

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

No matter who we are, our human side wants to rebel, to look for a better way.

Alcoholics Anonymous has a great saying, “Let Go and Let God.” This saying actually means to totally surrender your life to God, allowing Him to shape our lives like the potter shapes the clay into a beautiful bowl.

If you have never “let go and let God” now is the time, it’s not too late. He can shape your life into a beautiful masterpiece.