“Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you.” — 1 Peter 5:7
Devotional
Sis, today is about letting go, not because it didn’t matter, but because you matter.
There are things you’ve been holding onto that once helped you survive, but now they’re quietly weighing you down. Old pain. Old guilt. Old conversations. Old versions of yourself. You’ve carried them so long they started to feel normal. Familiar. Even safe.
But survival and healing are not the same thing.
What broke you once doesn’t get to keep defining you. And what hurt you doesn’t get permanent access to your heart. God never asked you to carry wounds forever. He asked you to bring them to Him.
Releasing doesn’t mean forgetting.
Releasing doesn’t mean pretending it didn’t hurt.
Releasing means you’re choosing peace over replaying pain.
Sis, some of the heaviness you feel isn’t because life is hard—it’s because you’re holding onto what God already told you to lay down. And the beautiful part? God doesn’t just take what you release. He replaces it.
He replaces anxiety with peace.
He replaces bitterness with freedom.
He replaces grief with comfort.
He replaces shame with grace.
You don’t have to force release. You just have to be willing.
Today, we loosen our grip.
Today, we breathe again.
Today, we trust God enough to put it down.
Love you to life,
-Pastor Joni
Prayer
God,
Today I’m coming to You with what I’ve been carrying for too long. I confess that I’ve been holding onto pain, replaying moments, and gripping things that have been hurting me more than helping me.
Lord, I don’t want to just survive, I want to be free. Help me release what broke me. Help me let go of the weight, the guilt, the bitterness, the shame, and the fear that keeps trying to follow me into my future.
I give You what I can’t fix. I surrender what I can’t control. I lay down what I was never meant to carry.
And God, I ask You to replace it. Replace my heaviness with peace, my anxiety with confidence, and my pain with healing. I trust You with my heart. I trust You with my process. I trust You with me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Reflection Questions
- What am I still holding onto that God has already asked me to release?
- How has carrying this pain affected my peace, my joy, or my relationships?
- What am I afraid might happen if I truly let this go?
11 Responses
1. Old wounds that he’s asked me to place in his hands. I’m scared of disappointment and the need to protect myself from it. I’m holding on to the need to survive rather than be free.
2. It’s affected the things around me by me thinking it will happen again or not letting people in because I’m scared of what they may do to me emotionally. Felt the need to be strong rather than vulnerable when I’m going through something.
3. Afraid to be hurt again even if I’ve fully let go.
1. Guilt
2. Beating myself up about it
3. I have already faced my challenges and let it all go…. so I feel comfortable and relaxed now …
Guilt,about my past life I got to let it ur go today..
Habits: people pleasing
Grief/Betrayal: father & previous marriage
Downplaying myself and my gifts: insecurities, not feeling like I can do it
I’m afraid that if I truly heal now I’m held to a new standard, more will be required, and though I want those things.. I think, it’s scary because I’ve never made it to that side.
1. I’m still holding onto…loads of anger, heartaches, sadness, just alot of hurt that I wish would go away. Even past memories that I know I shouldn’t dwell on and I don’t but they do hit me alot out of nowhere so things are hard to get over especially the unresolved ones.
2. I definitely isolate myself from people. To the point I can’t stand being around people or talking to people for too long. No matter if they family or friends. I put my feelings on the back burner because that’s a familiar treatment I receive. I don’t like to cry or vent about anything to no one because it makes me feel weak and I don’t like people seeing me vulnerable because people can take it and run with it or I’ll just be feeding people information I could’ve just kept to myself. I’ve learned to NUMB myself entirely on cue whenever I want/need. I put up facades on a daily that I’ve become an expert at it as well. I Ran Out Of Hope along time ago, my patience and tolerance are very low e people and more…
3. I’m afraid that I’ll be vulnerable again and people will use that against me or take it for granted. I’m afraid of having HOPE again just to be let down entirely. I’m afraid of letting even an inch of my walls down because I could get hurt. I feel everything so very deeply even when I don’t want to. I have BPD… Borderline Personality Disorder so it’s hard for me and different. I’m already misunderstood so I don’t wanna be judged either lowkey. It’s my first time everrrrr mentioning what I have going on with me to anybody but I really don’t care because everybody has something going on but I know no one really comes across a person with BPD and that’s a disorder genetic from the father side but TRIGGERED BY TRAUMA it doesn’t just appear from the start it’s almost like…. It has to be…unlocked. So having that also makes me stay to myself not outta shame though. I don’t know.
I know it’s easier said than done when people say “give it to GOD”. However, there’s nothing better than knowing and believing he’s got you covered. People say don’t worry about it but even if you do, keep seeking him every time to ease your pain and mind.
I still carry pain and betrayal from my past I try to say I don’t but in the quiet moments I can still hear someone or something inside me screaming
Like pastor Allen said the brain can recognize a threat before a blessing everyone and everything has the potential to hurt me and if given the opportunity it’s inevitable this is a core belief I live by
No idea honestly everytime I think I’m doing the work to get the hurt off me it always comes creeping back
……self doubt, disappointed in myself, feeling inadequate, feeling like I’ve let the most important people down including myself, feeling stuck and stagnant no where near where I should be, feeling like I’m that person for everyone else but I don’t have it for myself, tiring always having to be strong and pouring into others and no one pours into you so I turn more to God for it solely…..so much but I’m working on it.
1. I’ve been holding on to control. Wanting to control the outcome of a thing instead of just fully trusting God
2. Causes constant stress worry and sometimes doubt
3. When I let go, I know more will be required and it will be uncomfortable at first because releasing cause more surrender to God
3.
Courtney I am so proud of you for saying this out loud!! This is so real!!
Control feels like safety, but it quietly turns into pressure… and you said it perfectly: stress, worry, and even doubt start creeping in because your mind is trying to hold what only God can carry.
And that last part? Whew. 🔥 “When I let go, more will be required.” Yes!!! Because letting go requires total surrender. And surrender is uncomfortable at first because it stretches you into a new level of trust.
I was once told “Release isn’t losing, it’s transferring!” That changed my life!
You’re not dropping the ball… you’re putting it back in God’s hands.
He’s got it covered!
Obedience is your responsibility, outcome is God’s!
Love you!
Pastor Joni
1.) What am I still holding onto that God has already asked me to release?
• Rejection
• lack of validation in my calling
• not fully believing in who God has called me to be / my identity in Christ
2.) How has carrying this pain affected my peace, my joy, or my relationships?
• If those that I deemed important to me didn’t see me , my purpose , or my gifts I often watered down what I knew God had called me to do because I was uncomfortable.
• Still searching for validation & approval robbed me of the joy God truly wanted me to experience. I used to think that my purpose was dependent on everyone seeing what God showed me. Until I realized God still showed up , God still called me , and God hasn’t stopped calling me despite not feeling seen or validated . I often struggled with depression because I was torn between opinions . Gods opinion & man’s opinion . Physically thriving but internally I had no peace , no stillness, no comfort just chaos .
• I unintentionally self sabotaged genuine relationships because I was broken. I would isolate myself and often try to figure things out on my own because I never truly felt supported . Which made me hyper independent.
3.) What am I afraid might happen if I truly let this go?
• I would truly have to surrender to God and walked whole heartedly in my calling . Not being able to hide behind rejection anymore id be forced to confront me if i want to move forward. & that is scary for me.