The Art of Leaving

The Art of Leaving hear the word of the Lord 5No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Their is an Art of letting go. I am not sure mastering the Art of Leaving relieves one of the Agony of leaving. The human race can never know Gods agony in parting with His Son Jesus, John 3:16. 

I am convinced that God protects us in our obedience. When God wants to protect us he removes a relationships in your life. 

There are so many examples of the Art of Leaving. The major lesson in each example is The act of Obedience. Leaving is an act of obedience.

• Paul and Barnabus split Acts 15:39 Then the contention grew so sharp that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him, and sailed away to Cyprus, 

• Abram and  Lot Gen 18:9Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself, I beg of you, from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right hand, then I will go to the left.

• Lots Wife Genesis 19:26 (Amplified Bible)26But [Lot's] wife looked back from behind him, and she [a]became a pillar of salt.... Salt is a symbol of lifelessness. Nothing grows in salt. Lot's wife was ... says, "Remember Lot's wife! It's almost the shortest verse in the Bible. 

• Marriage Mark 10:7 (Amplified Bible)7For this reason a man shall leave [behind] his father and his mother and be joined to his wife and cleave closely to her permanently, 

•  Ruth 1:16 (Amplified Bible)16And Ruth said, Urge me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. 

• The Transfiguration of Christ (Luke 9:27-36)  Mount Tabor is the traditional site of the Mount of Transfiguration. It is located in the Jezreel Valley. 

When God wants to bless you he puts adds a relationship in your life. When God wants to protect you he removes a relationships in your life.

Jonahs graduation from "Whale University" has to be the most infamous graduation exercises in history. His accommodations were custom made. (Whale Palm Beach Accommodation :: Luxury Retreat) If he only knew how to obey.

You will never be promoted until you become overqualified for your present assignment.

Leaving means that you have been in your past long enough. The past season is over. Do not love the past or you will have to stay there (Lots Wife)

Deuteronomy 31:6 (Amplified Bible)6Be strong, courageous, and firm; fear not nor be in terror before them, for it is the Lord your God Who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you.

Matthew 10:22 (Amplified Bible)22And you will be hated by all for My name's sake, but he who perseveres and endures to the end will be saved [[a]from spiritual disease and death in the world to come].

Luke 9:62 (Amplified Bible)62Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.

2 Timothy 2:3 (Amplified Bible)3Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus.

James 1:12 (Amplified Bible)12Blessed (happy, [a]to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.

June 2005
The Art of Leaving
By: Lysa Terkeurst

One of the greatest acts of honoring God with our lives is to have enough faith to leave the way we've always done life, and start doing things differently with God. Leave the attitude, the stubborn pride, the right to be right, the control, and biggest of all - leave the unbelief.

A couple of years ago, I drove an old minivan. It got me where I wanted to go but lacked most comforts and conveniences of a newer model. For one thing, the rear view mirror had fallen off the windshield. I bought a repair kit, thinking I would fix it on my own and save a little money. But as I read the instructions to use the super-duper repair glue, fear seized my heart and visions of disaster danced through my head. In bold was a warning that you must not let the glue get on your skin or you could literally get stuck to whatever you were gluing.

I am not a woman of great coordination and have an extensive record of embarrassing moments. Convinced that I would be the one in a millionpeople who would actually have to drive myself to the emergency room because my thumb was permanently stuck to the windshield, I tossed the kit and drove around with the rear view mirror in my cup holder, using it only when absolutely necessary.

During that time I learned to use other means of navigating the road such as my side mirrors and other passengers in the car. What I soon learned was my rear view mirror wasn't as necessary as I once thought it was. Honestly, I was using it for the wrong reasons anyway. I used it to put on my makeup while driving, to fuss at my kids, and to speed into the other lane when, in my opinion, the driver in front of me was going too slow… all very dangerous and unnecessary. You see, it is impossible to look behind you and ahead of you at the same time. Can you imagine how dangerous the roads would be if everyone drove around only looking in their rearview mirrors? It's much safer to stay focused on the road ahead, and only use the rearview mirror when absolutely necessary.

We can't go ahead with God to new and exciting places if we're spending too much time looking back. We must leave our past behind, determined to proceed forward with God. As a matter of fact, every time God calls His servants to go to new heights with Him, they have to go through a leaving process first. Here are a few examples:

1) In Genesis 7, God calls Noah and his family to leave and live in an ark.

2) In Ruth, we find the widow Ruth choosing to be loyal to her mother-in-law, thus leaving Moab to go to Bethlehem.

3) In 1 Samuel 16, David, the youngest and least likely candidate for kingship had to leave the calm, quiet fields and flocks to go to the palace. He was also stuck as the existing king's harp player before entering his own season of kingship.

4) In the New Testament, when Jesus called His disciples, the first thing they had to do was leave what they were doing and follow Him.

5) Even when marriage is mentioned in Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:5, the mandate of leaving comes first.

But, here's what happened as a result of each of these people leaving their past behind: Noah's family is spared from the flood that destroyed all mankind. Ruth the Widow becomes Ruth the Wife of Boaz. David the Shepherd becomes the greatest King to sit on the throne of Israel. The disciples share their life with Jesus Christ the Son of God. And men and women get to experience the greatest love relationship between two human beings … the one shared by husband and wife. Time and again, the first step in the formula for starting something new includes a process of leaving the old behind. And boy is it powerful!

Many times, leaving is an act of obedience and not necessarily a desire of the heart. It is hard. It causes you to step outside of your comfort zone and enter a life that requires faith. So, is it any surprise that you will be called to leave as well? You may or may not ever have to change physical locations in order to leave something behind. But I guarantee you, God's call to walk by faith will challenge you to leave behind old mind-sets and habits and embrace new spiritual perspectives for the road ahead! For the woman who walks faithfully with God, "…can laugh at the days to come" (Proverbs 31:25; NIV).

Isn't that what we all want? Joy for today and hope for tomorrow can be ours when we agree to walk with God to the brand new places He's been waiting to take us. So, toss that old rear view mirror, grab God's hand, and get ready for the most exciting adventure you've ever taken

How do I say goodbye to what we had?
The good times that made us laugh
Outweigh the bad.

I thought we’d get to see forever
But forever’s gone away
It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

I don’t know where this road
Is going to lead
All I know is where we’ve been
And what we’ve been through.

If we get to see tomorrow
I hope it’s worth all the wait
It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

And I’ll take with me the memories
To be my sunshine after the rain
It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

And I’ll take with me the memories
To be my sunshine after the rain
It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday