Let Go Of The Rope

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on."

There is a saying when someone is going through a hard time. You have heard it said that someone might be at the end of their rope, or, they might be ready to quit and have no more strength to hang on. When difficulty comes to your life, you are supposed to "tie a knot at the end of the rope and hang on." By doing this we are saving our life and giving ourselves a chance.

I get it. But, let me offer another perspective. The problem with this philosophy is that we never really get to a place where we need complete help. If we are still in control then we never allow for ourselves to experience complete failure.

Classic America

I'm in control. I've got this. Classic America. And this is everything that is wrong about humankind. From the beginning of time, this mentality and desire has been what has placed man in trouble. We have tried to find our own ways in every generation. Yet every generation has experienced the same thing. Failure. Are we happy about the place we find ourselves in today? Look at where our efforts have placed us:

GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP LEAK
ECONOMIC COLLAPSE
FAMILY DENIGRATION
SEXUAL REDEFINITION
DEVALUING OF LIFE
LOSS OF TRUST IN THE CHURCH
VIOLENCE AND BULLYING
SOCIAL MEDIA OUT OF CONTROL

Look at your life. Are you always trying to 'pick yourself up' and make the most of it? Are you constantly doing things on your own? Are you satisfied with where our efforts have placed us? It's not like we are living in the 'American Dream' anymore. It really looks more like an 'American Nightmare'. Here's an example of this lack of total trust in God:

First, we have seen a rise in terrorism. Just in the past 15 years, we have come so close to a collapse as a nation. We started the century and the last decade with terrorism attacks on 9/11 that brought us to the end of our rope. But, we tied a knot at the end of the rope and did not fully ask for the intervention of God. For several weeks we saw a contrition and even a rise in church attendance FOR A FEW MONTHS. A contrition and attendance that some called a spiritual renewal. However, the renewal was actually short-lived. 

 

Saving Ourselves?

What I want to challenge you today with is this thought of total surrender. Instead of 'tying the knot', would it be better that we let go and found ourselves in complete desperation? We really cannot save ourselves anyway. If we are always attempting to save ourselves in the midst of our difficulties, then how will we ever experience the intervention of God and a true spiritual awakening?

Could it be that the hole in the soul of man can only be filled through a relationship with Christ? For our nation to realize that there is a way that seems right to man, and the end is destruction. And, there is a way that seems right to God, and that desperation leads to the end that is life. That we would be willing to ask God to step in and not do everything in our strength to hang on.

Who knows, maybe when we let go of the rope, we might fall crashing to the ground and maybe even get hurt. Or, we might find that we are only a few feet off the ground. Or, maybe if we let go of the rope, God will catch us.