Letting Go
Jonah 4:4 Then said the Lord, Do you do well to be angry?
There was a young man that attended school in a large north-eastern city. In his studies he fell in love with eagles. He read, and watched anything, and everything about eagles. The more he studied the more he loved eagles. He promised himself when he graduated he would travel out west to observe the eagles in the wild. Finding a job teaching, he saved his money, planning for a summer eagle watching excursion. When the time arrived he booked a flight to an area where eagles were often spotted. Renting a jeep, he packed his camping gear, and off he went in search of eagles. Talking to locals he scouted out an area to set up camp. With his binoculars, and telescope in hand, he hiked to an area near the cliffs where eagles were reportedly seen. Yet, he failed to spot even one eagle. On his last, and final day, he exclaimed, Eureka, as he spotted an eagle soaring high in the sky. Awestruck, he watched as the eagle soared high above the clouds eventually gliding to a nest nestled in the crevices of some nearby cliffs. Keeping an ever, watchful eye on the nest, he was astounded as the eagle leaped into the air performing a steep dive, maneuver towards an unseen target on the ground below. Hurtling to the earth with great speed the eagle disappeared beneath the tree line. In a few minutes the eagle rocketed up from the ground soaring high into the sky clutching something unrecognizable in its sharp talons. Unfortunately, the thrill of this sight was short-lived as the young man observed the beautiful eagle suddenly going limp, spiraling, downward from its heights, catapulting to the ground. Startled, the young man began running to the area where he had last seen the eagle fall. When he arrived he was shocked, and surprised to discover the eagle was dead. The young man wondered what could have caused the eagle’s death. As he turned the eagles carcass over he was dumbfounded to discover the answer. Attached to its chest was a dead weasel, its claws dug deeply into its heart. It seems the eagle had swooped to the ground to capture its prey in its sharp talons only to lose the battle in its dizzying ascent. As the weasel fought back the eagle had refused to let go losing its heart in the process.
Jonah chose unforgiveness over letting go of the offenses he had towards the Ninevites and in the process lost his heart. What are the “weasels” in your heart digging themselves into your ascent toward God? Are they worth losing your heart and plunging to an earth bound death of an existence? Let it go. Release them, or release it, from the debt you think they owe you. Don’t let the “weasels” of life remove you from heaven’s realms.
