From Sundi Jo: This is a guest post by Caleb McNary. He is a writer, husband, father of 2, and an employee at Numana, a non-profit. You can read his blog at calebmcnary.com, and follow him @calebmcnary on Twitter. Want to submit your guest post? Click here for the details. 

The power of life and death is in the tongue. This is an oft-quoted verse, but usually with negative connotations. I’ve never heard someone use it as a positive statement, until now.

You see, most of us are wired to hang on to things too long. The phrase “beating a dead horse” wasn’t coined but for good reason. Trying to hold on to perpetual youth and phrases like, “I wish this feeling could last forever” are commonplace.

The fact is we are made to move on. Just like the seasons roll through each year, we too are made to let things go. But we have a problem doing that.
A few years back, I was trying to make a season last longer than it should have. I was beating a dead horse. Eventually I came to terms with the fact that my life situation necessitated a change, I had to declare it dead. Slowly, my heart came into alignment and I was able to mourn the passing of that season, and felt refreshed for what was ahead of me.
I’m not a big “name it and claim it” kind of guy, so don’t misunderstand me. I just think that when we say something is over, our heart is able to move on.
The most important aspect of this is the fact that resurrection can’t happen until death is final. By trying to hang on to something that should be moved on from, we are inadvertently restricting the power of resurrection to bring new life.
Jesus spoke of this often, and even used his life on earth as the reference point,

“Unless a seed enters the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But, if it dies, it produces many seeds (paraphrase of John 12:24).

What I’m saying is that it may be time let something go.
Here are a few things that you may need move on from.
Dreams. This is a tough one. Sometimes the dreams we manufacture aren’t the destiny that God has for us. At least in their current form. For me, it was a business I owned. I dreamed of being able to utilize my various talents and started a photography studio. The pieces were there, but the picture they painted was wrong. It died a slow and terrible (and costly) death. I tried to hang on to it too long, and I incurred debt as a result. When I finally declared it over, I was able to move on and, to my surprise, I found a job that utilized the pieces of my previous dream to a greater degree. Crazy, huh?
Hurtful circumstances. One of the strongest human tendencies is to hang on to hurt for too long. It is proper to mourn for a time, and there is no set timeline for how that should go for each person. But, deep down you know when it is time to forgive the hurt, and declare it dead in your life. Your heart is enabled to let go, and move forward.
Relationships. Possibly the toughest of them all. The fact is, there are just some relationships that need to end. We feel, as Christians, that we are to love everyone, and thereby give them access to our lives. I don’t think this is true, though, the access part anyway. There are some relationships that just need to die. Whether it’s an old friend who drags you into depression by their words or actions, or family members who continue to hurt you despite your strongest admonitions, you have to let them go. Their actions are not your responsibility, but your mental well-being is.
I’m not saying the deaths need to be spectacularly violent. It needs to be as gentle as possible. In one of my “time to die” situations, it was a simple as saying, “I’m sorry, I just can’t do this anymore. It keeps me up at night, steals my joy, and is hurting my family.” In other words, move on as gracefully as possible. You don’t want to burn any bridges, and the seeds of grace that you plant may be the foundations of healing.
On the other side.
You’d be surprised at what kind of new life springs up on the other side of death. When you let go of something, you start to see wonderful new possibilities sprouting to life all around you. The dream that you thought was dead may materialize in a new form. The hurt that you moved on from may find a glorious resolution. The relationship that you buried may open you up to meeting and trusting new people. To quote Jurassic Park, “Life finds a way.” I can’t end on that can I? I guess I’ll have to.
What is something that you need to move on from?