Catch and release.
That phrase is often used in fishing. There are places and times where it is required after you catch a fish to release it back into the water. The process improves the fish population by allowing more fish to remain and reproduce.
Catch is to secure something. Release is to set free.
I don’t know about you, but it is hard for me to release something after I’ve worked hard at catching it. Just like fishing, there are times we go through seasons of waiting. I have spent lengthy amounts of time waiting. Waiting to feel a nibble. Waiting until the nibble is secure so I can set the hook and reel in the big one!
Only to turn around and let it go, to release it.
I have had to let go of jobs that I’ve worked hard to achieve. Let go of long-time friendships because of life changes. Let go of goals because of health issues. Let go of expectations that I have because life just didn’t turn out the way I had hoped.
All of these were difficult times, and I viewed them as negative. I felt like I was letting people down, letting myself down, or that I had failed in some way.
Here is what I know, God wants to grant release and relief to His people. However, I must play my part for God to move or to send help. Psalm 55:22 (NIV) tells us to "Cast (release) your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken."
There are two things we can count on in life: one is that God will never change, and the other is, life will always change.
Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.
~ Glenda Cloud
Instead of viewing changes in life as negative, how can I be intentional about growing through the change?
First, realize there is a difference between giving up and letting go. Giving up is facing defeat. Letting go is releasing.
I have learned to be intentional in shifting my perspective. Just like releasing the fish so it can grow, I am releasing whatever my big catch was to allow for growth.
I am not defeated. I am releasing.
I have enjoyed the journey of “catching” that awesome job, wonderful friend, or meeting the goals I had for myself; but I've also learned that I am sometimes called to release them, when appropriate, in order to grow. Through eyes of faith, I know I am releasing in order to say yes to a journey that God may be calling me to pursue.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
No matter what you may be facing, you don’t have to feel defeated when you have to let something go. God might simply be calling you to catch and release.
And remember, God has ultimately released us all through Jesus’ death on the cross!
And because of that, you can choose to release your fears, doubts, and anxieties to Him as you celebrate the biggest catch of your life, salvation through Jesus Christ! When you do, you will see your life grow in ways you never thought possible as you learn to trust more and more that God will sustain you and He is with you always, even when He's asking you to let something go.
My friend, what do you need to release today? Is there something God is asking you to let go of in order to provide the opportunity to grow into His call for your life?
With love and joy,
Laura