“Far from advocating a theology that calls us to “let go” in the way the cliché suggests, Scripture calls us into a life of engaged, active faith.”
(The Dissenter) Okay, so this one isn’t actually in the Bible. But since a disturbing number of professing believers think it is, we’ll cover it anyway. The well-worn mantra, “Let go and let God”—a phrase often parroted in church Sunday School classes, book clubs, and social media posts by people who presume it to be a golden nugget of biblical wisdom. Imagine these scenarios, someone’s stressed over work, tangled in relational conflicts, or generally overwhelmed by life’s complexities. What advice do they get?…
“Just let go and let God handle it,” often served with a warm, comforting smile. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Except it’s a notion not only absent from Scripture but also perilously misleading.
Sure, there are kernels of truth hidden in those five simple words. The idea of surrendering to God, of trusting Him with your life, is a thoroughly biblical concept. But the way this phrase gets tossed around tends to lean toward spiritual irresponsibility and laziness. It becomes a super spiritual-sounding excuse to back off from personal accountability, human interaction, and—gasp—even good theology.