Let Him!

A few years back, I almost got “Let Them” tattooed on me. I was literally sitting in a tattoo shop, had the design picked out, and was ready to do it. I had been drinking, thought it was a great idea, and was about to put it on my body forever.

Then something told me to get up and leave. So I did. At the time, I didn’t understand why, but now I do.

Everywhere I go, I see “Let Them.” I see the tattoos, I see the books, I see the social media posts, and every time I see it, I find myself asking the same questions:

When did we stop at them? When do we get to Him?

Before I go any further, this is NOT a criticism of the “Let Them” message. In fact, I’m thankful for it. Every time I saw it, it made me ask myself a deeper question:

Why am I spending so much time focused on them and not Him?

That question changed my perspective. Don’t get me wrong. I understand the message: if they want to leave, let them. If they want to misunderstand you, let them. If they want to judge you, let them. If they want to reject you, let them. But after a while, I realized I was still focused on them:

Them leaving.

Them staying.

Them judging.

Them accepting.

Them understanding.

Them.

Them.

Them.

I started wondering why I was spending so much time thinking about what everyone else thought of me when I wasn’t spending nearly enough time thinking about what Jesus thought of me.

For most of my life, I cared way too much about other people’s opinions:

I wanted people to understand me.

I wanted people to know my heart.

I wanted people to see the truth.

I wanted people to approve of me.

I wanted people to like me.

I wanted people to see me the way I saw myself.

If I’m being honest, a lot of that was pride. A lot of that was ego; not just theirs either. Mine too. I’ve been through situations where my name was dragged through the mud and people made assumptions about me without knowing the whole story - or even just the truth.

For years, I wanted to explain myself. Defend myself. Convince everybody. Make sure everyone knew my side. But Jesus showed me a few things. The people who truly know me already know my character. The people who love Jesus understand grace because they need grace too. The people determined to judge me usually aren’t looking for understanding anyway. So why was I exhausting myself trying to earn approval from people when I already had acceptance from Jesus? Maybe that’s why Jesus said a prophet is not honored in his own hometown.

The people closest to us often know our past but struggle to believe in our transformation.

They remember who we were.

They remember our mistakes.

They remember our failures.

And sometimes they become so focused on our history that they can’t see what Jesus is doing in our present. The same thing happened to Jesus. The people who watched Him grow up couldn’t see past the carpenter’s son standing in front of them, and I’ve realized: I don’t need everyone to understand my transformation, I don’t need everyone to approve of my testimony, I don’t need everyone to agree with what Jesus has done in my life.

Because Jesus already knows., and that’s more than enough for me. These days I wear a ring that says:

“You can’t influence the world by trying to be like it.”

Every time I look at it, I’m reminded that Jesus didn’t call me to fit in, He didn’t call me to chase approval, He didn’t call me to spend my life worrying about what everybody else thinks. He called me to follow Him. When I look around, I see a world that is exhausted trying to keep up with everyone else; trying to look like everyone else, trying to impress everyone else, trying to gain approval from everyone else, trying to become someone the world will accept.

But Jesus didn’t create us to spend our lives serving other people’s opinions. He created us to know Him, to love Him, to love one another, to serve others, to reflect Him. Somewhere along the way, I stopped asking:

“What do they think about me?”

And started asking:

“Jesus, who do You want me to be?”

That question changed everything. One day I won’t stand before them. I’ll stand before Him. The One who created me. The One who saved me. The One who knows every mistake I’ve ever made and still chose the cross. The One who has never left me. The One who has never failed me. The One who loves me more than I could ever comprehend. The One who continues to offer grace, mercy, wisdom, and love every single day.

So for me, it isn’t “Let Them.”

It’s “Let Him.”

• When life doesn’t make sense, let Him show you why.

• When people leave, let Him show you He has better people in store for you.

• When doors close, let Him reassure you that He will open bigger and better doors for you.

• When the answer is yes, let Him bless you and be grateful!

• When the answer is no, let Him show you that He knows best and already knows the outcome.

• When the answer is wait, let Him show you that you can always trust Him.

Because every time I thought something was falling apart, Jesus was putting something together. Every time I thought He was late, He was preparing me. Every time I thought I needed to defend myself, He reminded me that He already knows the truth. If I ever put more words on my body, it won’t say “Let Them.”

It’ll say:

"Let Him"

And the H will wear the crown. Because He is the only opinion I’ve found worth chasing. For years I let other people tell me who I was. Today, I let Jesus tell me who I am. Your opinion of me? I’ll leave that to Him. Your approval of me? I’ll leave that to Him. Your judgment of me? I’ll leave that to Him. Your misunderstanding of me?

I’ll leave that to Him.

Because the One who created me, saved me, forgave me, and loves me unconditionally already knows my heart. Again, that’s more than enough for me. My focus isn’t on the people who misunderstood me, my focus is on the Savior who never did and the better things He has been blessing me with along the way.

So instead of “Let Them”…

I’m choosing to “Let Him.”