What Are You Still Holding On To?

Letting go can be one of the hardest parts of following God. We can recognize that a season has ended and still struggle to release the people, routines, identities, and expectations connected to it. In this episode of the Intentional Grounding Godcast – Letters to Isaiah, Coach Dombrowski explores 1 Kings 19:20 NIV and the moment Elisha was called away from the life he had always known.

This episode builds on the previous message about leaving home and stepping into a new season. Whether you’re preparing for college, watching a child grow up, leaving a job, moving on from a relationship, or releasing a painful chapter, this message will help you understand that honoring the past does not require living in it. Discover how to identify what you’re afraid to release, create healthy closure, and trust God with what comes next.

Transcript

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Sometimes the hardest part of moving forward isn't figuring out where God wants you to go. It's accepting what you have to leave behind. You can know that a season is over and still struggle to release it. You can know that God is calling you forward and still find yourself looking backward. And sometimes we keep praying for God to open a new door while we're still holding tightly to the handle of the old one. The last episode was about recognizing when it's time to leave home and step into a new season. But recognizing that it's time to leave and actually letting go are two very different things. So let me ask you something today. What are you still holding on to that God may be asking you to release? I'm your faith strategist coach, Dombrowski, and I'm here to help you live out your walk, not just believe it. Today we're going to talk about why letting go can feel so difficult, while closure is not the same thing as resistance, and how to move forward without disrespecting the season that God is bringing to an end. Our scripture today introduces us to a man named Elisha. Elisha wasn't searching for a new life. He was not standing around waiting for a dramatic sign from heaven. He was working in a field doing what he had probably done many times before. And then without warning, God interrupted his routine. All right, let me set the scene for you. Elisha was plowing a field with 12 pairs of ox, right? That detail matters because 12 pairs of oxen represented significant resources. Okay, Elisha wasn't walking away from nothing. He had stability, he had responsibility, he had family, he had work, he had a life that was already established. Then a prophet walked past him and placed his cloak over Elisha's shoulders. And in that culture, the cloak represented the prophetic calling and authority of the person wearing it. This was not a random gesture. Elisha understood that God was calling him into a completely different life. And suddenly he had a decision to make. Okay. So let's go over a few keywords here. So the word left. Elisha left the oxen immediately. So basically, he stopped what he was doing because he recognized that God was interrupting his ordinary routine with an extraordinary calling. And he didn't walk, he ran. He didn't casually stroll after the prophet. He ran, right? There was urgency in his response. He understood that this moment mattered. And then he said he was going to go say goodbye. So Elisha asked for permission to say goodbye to his father and his mother. That request wasn't necessarily rebellion, it was closure. Okay. Elisha wasn't asking to remain in his old life indefinitely. He just wanted to honor the people who had been part of that life before stepping into the next one. Now, for some historical and cultural context, family identity, then it carried enormous weight in ancient Israel. A person's occupation, land, family relationships, inheritance were all deeply connected, right? And walking away from the family business, it wasn't simply changing jobs. It meant you were leaving financial security and social expectations, personal identity, even a predictable future. Okay. Elisha wasn't being asked to exchange certainty for obedience. Now, God can call us while we're doing ordinary things. Okay. You don't have to be standing on a mountaintop or sitting inside a church for God to redirect your life. God can meet you in the field. He can meet you at work. He can meet you in the kitchen, right? He can meet you during a conversation. He can meet you in the middle of a season that you assumed would continue for years. All right. Now, this scripture here, let me just make sure everyone understands this, does not teach us to abandon our responsibilities recklessly. Okay. Elisha recognized the importance of saying goodbye. He wanted to honor his family before leaving. So there is a difference between moving forward in obedience and walking away carelessly. All right. God may call you to release a season without becoming bitter toward the people who are part of it. Now, letting go is difficult because familiar things they can make us feel safe. All right. Even when a season is no longer healthy or productive or part of God's direction, it can still feel comfortable because we know what to expect. We know the routine. We know the people. We even know the risks. Okay? We know how to survive there. And the future doesn't offer that same level of certainty. That's why some people remain in situations long after they know it's time to move. They're not always afraid of where they are, they're afraid of where they're going. And I think that fear can cause us to hold on to things that God is trying to remove from our hands. Maybe you're holding on to a relationship that's already changed. Maybe you're holding on to a job that became your entire identity. Maybe you're holding on to an old disappointment or holding on to regret because you believe punishing yourself somehow makes things right. Maybe you're holding on to a version of your child who is growing up and preparing to leave home. Maybe you're holding on to control because uncertainty makes you feel comfortable. The problem is that you cannot fully embrace what God is placing in front of you while constantly reaching backwards for what he has already asked you to release. Let me say that again. The problem is that you cannot fully embrace what God is placing in front of you while constantly reaching backward for what he has already asked you to release. God's not asking you to pretend that the past didn't matter. There's a difference. You can appreciate a season without trying to recreate it. You can honor a relationship without forcing it to remain the same. You can be grateful for what something gave you without demanding that it continue forever. Right? You can say goodbye without saying that the entire experience was bad. Some seasons end because they failed. Other seasons they end because they fulfilled their purpose. And I think that may be the hardest kind of ending to accept. Nothing terrible happened. No one did anything wrong. The simply put it, the season reached its conclusion. And when God says it's time to move, obedience requires us to loosen up our grip. But take a moment and ask yourself what am I having trouble releasing? Don't settle for a vague answer here. Seriously, name it. Is it a person? Is it a position? A dream? Maybe it's a disappointment. Maybe it's a habit or a place or a season of life. An old version of yourself. Write it down. And then ask God, what am I afraid will happen if I let this go? And sometimes the thing we're holding isn't the real problem. The fear underneath it is. You may be afraid that letting go means you failed. You might be afraid that moving forward means forgetting. You may be afraid that the future won't be as good as the past. You may be afraid that you won't know who you are anymore. And bring that fear honestly before God. You cannot surrender what you refuse to identify. And somebody listening today is standing between two seasons. You know something has changed. You can feel it. You know God is moving you forward, but part of your heart is still trying to negotiate with yesterday. You're asking God to give you a new beginning without requiring an ending. But friends, new chapters usually require us to turn the page. Doesn't mean you tear the old page out. It means you stop reading it as though nothing else has been written. Right? Stop thinking, boy, if I if I let go, I'm losing everything. Start thinking, man, if God is asking me to release it, He already knows what I'll need next. Letting go, it's not always losing. Friends, sometimes letting go is making room. Sometimes it's trusting God enough to believe that the future doesn't have to look like the past in order to be good. So you may ask, how do you make the change? The first and most important is acknowledge what season meant to you. Don't minimize it. If it mattered, say why it mattered. If it helped shape you, thank God for what it taught you. Second, accept that something can be meaningful and still be finished. The value of a season is not determined by how long it lasts. Okay, some people remain in our lives forever, others are present present for a specific chapter. Both of those can have value. Third, release the outcome that you cannot control. You may not receive the closure you'd hoped for. You may not receive an apology. You may not even receive the perfect goodbye. Closure sometimes comes from deciding that you will no longer allow unfinished situation to control your future. Fourth, take one step in the new direction. Elisha ran after the prophet. He moved. Your next step might be submitting an application, packing up a box, making a phone call, setting boundaries, forgiving somebody, or simply accepting that a chapter has ended. Faith grows through movement. And if you continue learning how to release what God has already completed, you'll become more available for what He's beginning. You'll carry less emotional weight. You'll stop comparing every new season to the old one. You'll become more present with the people who are in front of you right now. And you'll begin to understand that letting go doesn't erase your history. It prevents your history from controlling your direction. All right. Tomorrow, when a memory pulls your mind backwards, pause and say, you know what? Thank you, God, for what this that season gave me and help me receive what you're giving me today. Okay. You don't have to reject yesterday. You just have to stop allowing yesterday to steal your today. All right. Man, it's good. And the next verse actually tells us that Elisha did something even more powerful. Okay. He ended up slaughtering his oxen. He used the farm equipment as firewood. He prepared a meal, fed the people, right? That was more than a farewell dinner. Elisha removed his ability to return to the exact life he had been living. He didn't leave the oxen waiting in the field just in case following God became uncomfortable. He made a decisive break with his old direction. Okay, now this doesn't mean every person should quit a job, sell everything, or make a reckless decision. All right. Elijah had received a specific calling, but the principle still matters. Many of us say we're moving forward while quietly protecting our route back. We tell God we trust him, but we keep one hand on the old season. We follow as long as the future stays comfortable. We obey as long as the cost remains low. We surrender as long as we can take everything back later. Elisha demonstrates wholehearted obedience. He honored his family, acknowledged the ending, and then committed to the future. That's the tension many of us feel. We don't want to disrespect where we've been. But we also cannot stay there simply because it feels familiar. And this connects directly with the last episode. Right? There are moments when leaving home, leaving a season, or stepping into a new responsibility is part of growing. But the physical departure is sometimes easier than the emotional one. A young person can leave for college and still feel guilty about growing up. A parent can encourage a child to go while secretly wishing everything would remain the same. A person can leave an old workplace while constantly replaying what happened there. A relationship can end while still occupying every corner of your heart. I mean, you can physically move and remain emotionally stuck. God doesn't only want to change your location, He wants to free your heart. Okay. The people watching you, man, they're gonna learn something from how you handled endings. I think they will learn whether faith means clinging to comfort or trusting God with change. They'll learn whether gratitude requires permanent attachment. They'll learn whether moving forward means dishonoring the past. So your legacy may be showing you or showing someone that you can love deeply, right? Remember gratefully and still release faithfully. Now, to my grandson Isaiah, one day you'll learn that growing requires letting go. You'll outgrow toys, you'll outgrow clothes, and you'll outgrow routines, you'll outgrow places that once felt like your entire world. And one day, you may even have to let go of dreams you were certain would last forever. And when that happens, don't assume that every ending means something went wrong. Sometimes an ending means a season accomplished exactly what God intended it to accomplish. Honor the people who helped you. Be grateful for the memories, take the lessons with you, but don't hold so tightly to yesterday that you miss the life that God is placing in front of you. Keep your hands open. Open hands can release what is finished, but they can also receive what is next. I love you more than you'll ever know. Friends, imagine trying to climb a mountain while carrying this backpack filled with rocks. The mountain may be difficult, but the unnecessary weight makes every step harder than it needs to be. Many people think they're struggling because the future is too steep. But the real problem may be that they're carrying too much of the past. Today, identify one thing that you've been carrying that God may be asking you to release. Thank him for what it taught you. Then take one intentional step forward. The past can be a part of your story without becoming the place where your story ends. Thank you so much for joining me today. If today's message encouraged you, share it with someone who's struggling to let go of a season that has ended or is afraid to step into what has God prepared next. Please make sure you follow the podcast, subscribe to the YouTube channel at Coach Dombrowski for reverse of the day, some short videos, faith-based motivation that will help you stay grounded throughout the week. Until next time, Coach Dombrowski out.