LETTING GO // SEPTEMBER 19, 2023
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Mark 2:22
Wine skin can grow stiff and brittle over time. So putting new wine into old skin could cause it to burst out of the seams, losing both the wine and the skin that should keep it together. The same is true in life: we wouldn't put new things into old containers that could fall apart. It's important to assess what needs to change and what we should keep.
Why do we hang onto things we shouldn't? For some, it's nostalgia. For others, it's sentimental. And other times it's fear: we hoard things because we're afraid of not having enough. But if we hang on to things too long that we should let go, and don't change things we should be changing, we can become irrelevant.
What are you holding onto? It's important to recognize when something has fulfilled its purpose. The process of letting go involves sacrifice. New wine skin meant a goat or sheep needed to die. A price had to be paid. Today, take stock of what is in your life, and ask God, "What do I need to let go?" It takes courage to be willing to let go, but instead of dwelling on what you'll lose, you can look forward on the life God has waiting for you!