Don’t Let Me Go

If you haven’t seen the “The Chosen” video series, you must! My husband and I just finished watching the last episode of season 3. Now don’t take this endorsement as an excuse to not read your Bible. Nothing can ever replace that. However, there is something about this series that just adds an extraordinary visual reference and historically accurate layer to what we already know from the Bible. I highly recommend that you watch Dallas Jenkins’ explanation of how they put together the content for the different episodes before you start watching. In my opinion, this whole series is God breathed. With all this being said, the 8th episode of season 3 was powerful and I immediately felt the need to write this.

In this episode, Simon is struggling with the fact that Jesus seems to have ignored or forgotten him and his wife’s troubles. This episode portrays the teaching and feeding of 5000 with five loaves and two fish. They are all exhausted and a storm is coming. Fast forward, Simon gets a boat for them all to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilei. Jesus sends them on saying he will join them later. Simon’s anger is reaching a boiling point and the storm is tossing them on the sea. Suddenly, Jesus appears walking on water. Simon is over wrought and demands that Jesus allow him to walk to him. Jesus tells him to not take His eyes off of him. But, Simon loses focus and immediately sinks into the sea. Jesus reaches out and pulls him to himself. Simon is over wrought and begs Jesus to NOT let him go.

This is a moment that every single believer has experienced at some point in time: that moment when we get swallowed up by all of the detritus of our daily lives, that moment of grief that envelopes our whole being, that moment when our sinful human nature rears its ugly head with anger or frustration, that moment when we seem devoid of compassion or love, that moment when we feel lost and left behind. In that moment Simon begs Jesus to not let him go. It hit me… we need to pray those very words. “Lord, don’t ever let me go.” Even as I pray these words, God’s word reminds us in Hebrew 13:5, Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6-8 and 1Chronicles 28:20 tells us the same exact thing. That is God’s promise to us.

https://www.angel.com/watch/the-chosen?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyIH10rfV_QIVKilMCh3iUQEhEAAYASAAEgIEjfD_BwE