It was a small room that mirrored a cavern of hell itself.  The walls dark and bleak; the lighting a muted gray; the air heavy with a tint of sulfur – cloying in the nostrils and congesting the lungs.

The only visible light spilled in from the doorway on the far wall.  It was a doorway to … clouds, and seemingly a long and terrifying fall.  The room was situated at an extreme height, and the door was the only entrance and egress.  Edging closer to the opening provided a stunning view of slowly shifting clouds, below and above.  The sense of the depth outside the doorway was palpable.

Hope avoided moving too close to the door.  The distance down was dizzying.  Approaching it caused her breath to catch and her stomach to churn.

But staying away from the opening wasn’t necessarily easy either.  Inside that horrid room lived some of the most vile creatures.  Niggling worries crawled out of the cracks in the floor and onto Hope incessantly, like tiny spiders.  Doubts skittered around the room on four legs, whipping their long, leathery tails, squeaking their disdain and biting when able.  Concerns slithered about, and took every opportunity to wrap themselves around Hope in a cold-blooded embrace, squeezing all pleasure from her.  Anxieties flapped around the room on bare black wings, swooping close repeatedly.

Relaxation didn’t exist; rest was never experienced.  Peace was impossible and having hope unimaginable in that anxious room.

Except for the door.  The terrifying, but bright and inviting door.

The fascinating door.  The door of intrigue.

The door bordered on all four sides with messages.  In softly glowing letters over the door were the words, “Let go and let God.” 

On the left could be seen, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, and he will make your paths straight. (God, your Father)” 

On the right, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Learn from me, and you will find rest for your souls. (Jesus, your Brother)” 

And on the wall immediately below the door (the opening was raised off the floor) was written, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (God, your Holy Spirit)”

Hope was mesmerized by the messages.  They were everything Hope so desperately desired; everything she so desperately needed!  And they were everything that was non-existent in that room of gloom, that place full of fear. 

Hope contemplated the words repeatedly.  They filled her thoughts as she fought off the niggling worries, the skittering doubts, the slithering concerns, and the flapping anxieties so abundant in that dark place.  Clearly the messages were tied to the door – the glorious door that provided the light, and the terrifying door that emptied into the heights.

She could arrive at no other conclusion then that the promises offered in the words around the door could only be obtained by walking through the door.  But to do so was not only illogical, it seemed to be madness and self-destruction!

But then why were those words there?  And who had put them there?  Were they written by the horrible creatures in that room of anxiousness?  But that didn’t make sense either.  If she went through the door and plunged to her death, they couldn’t reach her anymore.  It seemed clear that they wanted continued access to her to torment her to the fullest.

Hope’s suffering in that room of anxiousness continued unrelentingly.  So it would be accurate to say that her despair caused her to consider crossing through the opening more and more seriously. 

But the greater factor was the assurance that the messages offered.  The words gave her hope, there was no other way to state it.  They lifted her heart and brightened her eyes whenever she thought of them.  Hope already flickered within her, fostered by the encouraging words, but she wanted to experience it to a much greater degree.

Finally the day came when a large concern managed to wrap itself around Hope’s neck and began contracting its grip, making it difficult for her to breath.  As Hope writhed on the floor, doubts attacked her, biting her incessantly and worries crawled all over her body.  This was the worst attack yet.

“I must have peace!” she thought desperately.  She took her hands off the snake encircling her throat, pushed herself to her feet and dashed toward the light.  Hope covered the distance in seconds and dove through the terrifying door, trusting the messages around it.

She cartwheeled through the air, her legs swinging over her head … and instead of plummeting downward, she floated!  She had landed on her back in the clouds, her perch firm yet comfortable.  It made no sense, yet the results were undeniable!  The tormenting anxiousness of the dark room were gone!  Joy and peace surrounded her!

God the Holy Spirit was upholding Hope with his righteous right hand.  Jesus, God the Son, was supplying rest to her soul and her mind.  And God the Father was giving her understanding and settling her on a better, much more pleasant path … a path in the clouds, no less!

No worries crawled over her.  No doubts skittered around her.  No concerns slithered about.  No anxieties flapped nearby. 

Hope had found hope!  In faith, she had cast her cares into the care of God.  She had learned to trust in the Lord, and trust in the Lord had provided her with peace. 

How wonderful it is to float on the promises and provision of God!

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This allegory is oversimplified, of course.  However, I found it … and am still finding it … extremely beneficial to me.  (As worries have beset me in recent days, I have been picturing myself diving through the terrifying door.  This has actually proved to be quite comforting!)  I pray that you might also benefit from the picture.

Regarding the messages around the door, the “Let go and let God” is not a quote from the Bible, though the concept is certainly found throughout the Scriptures.  The other words are indeed Bible passages (Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 11:28-29, and Isaiah 41:10).

Another fitting passage for this topic would be 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on [the Lord] because he cares for you.”

Sadly, some never cross through the terrifying door; they choose instead to suffer in the dark and anxious room.  May God make us wiser and move us in trust to dive through the door into his loving care!