The Courage to Let Go

The Courage to Let Go

Ever felt the quiet ache of staying in a season that has already ended?

We often cling to old routines, past successes, or comfortable spaces long after their time has passed. We call it loyalty, but sometimes it is simply the fear of stepping into the unknown. We hold on tightly because letting go feels like losing something valuable.

Yet in the economy of God, surrender is never subtraction.

When He asks you to loosen your grip on what was comfortable, He isn't trying to leave you empty-handed. He is clearing your hands so you can receive the fresh, divine blessings waiting for your next season. Letting go of what was good is often the only path to stepping into what is truly divine.

If you are standing at a crossroads, feeling the tension between the safety of yesterday and the call of tomorrow, this message was written for you.

Read the full post now to find clarity, courage, and peace for your transition:

The Courage to Let Go

A New Sanctuary for the Wilderness Seasons

A New Sanctuary for the Wilderness Seasons

Dear Friends,

I have launched a brand-new publication on Substack titled Where the LIGHT breaks in.

This site is created with one single, dedicated purpose: to deliver Bible-anchored devotions that offer steadying faith, living hope, and character-building truth to help people navigate life’s hardest trials, prolonged delays, and wilderness seasons.

Rather than light commentary or quick platitudes, every entry on this new platform is built to bridge deep KJV Scripture directly into real-world struggles—whether you are facing workplace pressure, family friction, unanswered prayers, or the quiet fatigue of long waiting rooms. It is designed to be a quiet sanctuary for your soul, helping you fix your eyes on the unchanging character of God when circumstances feel uncertain.

Where the LIGHT breaks in is completely free to read, with every new devotion delivered straight to your inbox so you never miss an update.

I invite you to step over, explore the early devotions, and subscribe today:

👉 Where the LIGHT breaks in | Rudi Steenhuis on Substack

Come see what God is doing in the quiet places—and let His Word anchor your heart for the season ahead.

About Difficult People and the State of Your Soul

About Difficult People and the State of Your Soul

It happens in the quietest moments and the busiest places. You step into the office, join a family gathering, or stand in line at a grocery store, and suddenly the atmosphere changes. One abrasive remark, one arrogant posture, or one rebellious attitude disrupts the entire environment. It is easy to look at that individual and ask, “Why are they like this? Why must there always be someone who spoils the peace?”

Scripture reveals that this constant collision with difficult people is neither an accident nor an administrative oversight in the order of the world. In Matt.13:24-30, Jesus presents the parable of the wheat and the tares. A farmer sows good seed in his field, but while men sleep, an enemy sows weeds directly alongside the wheat. When the servants ask if they should pull up the tares immediately, the master answers in Matt.13:28-30, "He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." While the primary, eschatological interpretation of this passage points directly to the end times—when Christ returns in His second coming to execute final judgment—the principle holds an undeniable practical truth for our daily walk.

Until that final harvest arrives, the reality of this present age is that the righteous and the unrighteous reside in the exact same spaces. You cannot escape the tares; they are intentionally left in the field until the end. But while we often view these disruptive individuals as nothing more than an unpleasant nuisance, God views these encounters through an entirely different lens. He allows them in your life not merely to test your endurance, but to expose the true condition of your own heart.

Diagnosing the Root of Strife

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 8): The Fifth Course of Punishment and the Expected End

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 8): The Fifth Course of Punishment and the Expected End

Spiritual Liberty and Rightly Dividing the Target Audience

True liberty is one of the most misunderstood concepts in modern society. Men often speak of freedom as the unrestrained right to fulfil every personal desire, yet the world remains bound by internal addictions, destructive habits, and spiritual bondage. The Scriptures reveal that actual freedom is not found in self-indulgence, but in the person of Jesus Christ. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2Cor.3:17). This spiritual freedom stands in stark contrast to the condition of a world trapped in sin, but to understand how God brings ultimate liberty to the earth, one must approach the Bible with careful attention to its design.

A foundational key to understanding God’s Word is recognizing the specific audience of any given passage. Misinterpreting who God is speaking to creates doctrinal confusion. When readers take statements intended for a specific group in a distinct historical or prophetic setting and claim them without regard to context, the clarity of Scripture is lost. For instance, instructions given directly to the Hebrew nation under the law or warnings aimed at a future generation enduring the end times cannot be haphazardly applied to Gentile believers today. Understanding the intended recipient—whether Israel, Judah, the Gentiles, or the Church—ensures that the narrative of God's redemptive plan remains clear and intact.

The Broken Covenant and the Five Courses of Punishment

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 7): Daniel, the Fifth Course of Punishment, and the Destiny of Jerusalem

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 7): Daniel, the Fifth Course of Punishment, and the Destiny of Jerusalem

The Certainty of God’s Prophetic Word

Standing in a world consumed by uncertainty, human history often appears as a chaotic sequence of random events, political turmoil, and shifting cultural tides. Yet, when the Scriptures are opened, a grand, sovereign blueprint emerges that demonstrates God’s absolute mastery over the destiny of nations. The prophet Daniel stands as an unshakeable pillar in this divine record. Secular scholars and critics have long wrestled with the book of Daniel, often attempting to declare it a late forgery simply because its historical predictions are so stunningly precise. Writing during the rise of the Babylonian Empire, Daniel accurately foretold the precise succession of world superpowers—describing the fall of Babylon, the rise of the Medo-Persian Empire, the swift conquests of Alexander the Great, and the subsequent division of the Grecian Empire among four generals following Alexander’s death.

If the God of Heaven could outline over four hundred years of Gentile history with absolute precision, then every word written concerning the end times carries the exact same weight of absolute certainty. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself validated the prophet Daniel during His earthly ministry. When His disciples asked for the sign of His coming and the end of the world, Jesus pointed them directly back to the prophetic writings, instructing them to watch for the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. Christ did not view Daniel as a legend or a forgery; He recognized him as an inspired spokesman of truth whose warnings carry direct weight for the final generation. Understanding Daniel is not merely an academic exercise; it is the master key to unlocking the entire scope of end-times prophecy and recognizing God's sovereign hand in human history.

The Covenant Contract and Israel's Disobedience

To fully grasp why Daniel was sitting in captivity in Babylon receiving these vast prophetic revelations, one must trace the historical and covenantal framework that God established with the nation of Israel. At Mount Sinai, Israel entered into a legal covenant with Almighty God. They promised to keep His law, and God promised to bless them above all the nations of the earth if they remained obedient. However, the entire history of Israel—from the period of Joshua through the books of the Kings—records a tragic, repeated cycle of human failure, idolatry, and covenantal disobedience. Despite receiving unprecedented divine favour, protection, and provision, Israel continuously turned away from the true God to serve worthless idols.

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 6): Covenant Failure, Written Prophecy, and the Witness of the Law

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 6): Covenant Failure, Written Prophecy, and the Witness of the Law

The Covenant Blueprint and the Five Courses of Punishment

To properly understand the unfolding of God’s plan across the pages of Scripture, a reader must have a solid foundation in the historical framework of the Old Testament. The national story of Israel does not begin in a vacuum; it takes shape back in the twelfth chapter of Genesis with the calling out of Abraham. That historical line runs steadily through the books of the law, through the historical narratives, and all the way up to the book of Esther before resuming in the four Gospels. Along this path, God established a conditional covenant with the nation he brought out of Egyptian bondage. The terms were laid out with complete clarity: if the people would obey the voice of the Lord, they would be a peculiar treasure unto him, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.

Yet when one turns to the very first prophetic book in the Bible, the prophet Isaiah does not address a holy nation. Instead, he opens his vision by declaring them to be a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, and a seed of evildoers. How does a nation called out by God to demonstrate his righteousness on the earth end up in such a degraded condition? The answer is found by looking back into the law of Moses, specifically at the solemn warnings recorded in Leviticus 26. God did not leave his people in the dark regarding the consequences of covenant unfaithfulness. He laid out five distinct courses of punishment; a sequence of corrective chastisements designed to bring a rebellious people back to their knees.

If Israel would walk in his statutes, the rain would fall in due season, the land would yield her increase, and peace would reign within their borders. But if they refused to hearken and chose instead to despise his statutes, God promised to bring upon them terror, consumption, and the burning ague. Should they continue in their rebellion, God declared that he would punish them seven times more for their sins. The historical books from Joshua through Second Kings record the tragic realization of these warnings. Over a period of roughly one thousand years, God exercised immense patience and long-suffering toward Israel. He brought the first course of punishment, yet they revolted. He brought the second, third, and fourth courses, yet they hardened their hearts.

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 5): Leviticus 26 and the Five Courses of Punishment

Hebrews in Light of Grace (Part 5): Leviticus 26 and the Five Courses of Punishment

The Neglected Foundation of Old Testament History

Leviticus is easily one of those books that believers dread coming across as they read through their Bibles. It feels like a rough, tedious read filled with measurements, sacrifices, and ritual details that seem far removed from modern life. Yet tucked away within this neglected book lies crucial information that acts as the key to understanding the rest of Scripture. When readers skip or ignore Leviticus, they end up completely lost when they arrive at Judges, Kings, and the Prophets.

Without this foundational knowledge, people even misunderstand the Gospels. Many assume that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John mark the sudden birth of Christianity, entirely detached from what came before. But when John the Baptist appears announcing One who will baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire, he is speaking directly to a nation formed under God’s law. The fire he speaks of is not a spiritual blessing to be begged for in a modern service; it refers to divine purging and judgment upon a nation that failed its covenant. The axe was laid to the root of the tree, and every tree bringing not forth good fruit would be cast into the fire. To understand why such warnings were declared, one must return to the structural foundation laid down in Leviticus 26.

Leviticus 26 outlines what is known as the five courses of punishment. These chastisements formed a direct part of the Mosaic covenant established between God and Israel. If Israel refused to keep the covenant and obey God's law, five distinct periods of divine correction would follow to chasten and reform them. Understanding these five periods provides the historical blueprint for everything that unfolds from Joshua through Esther. The entire history of Israel’s kingdom and their temporary blinding can be mapped precisely according to these five warnings.

God’s Blueprint for an Earthly Kingdom