Shake It Off (Blog Post)

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Shake It Off

Written by Joy Harris-Bird | Contributing Author - Cathleen Harris

I was sitting at work talking to my sister on my break, like we normally do. And she hit me with a revelation I wasn’t ready for.

She said, "Jesus called Lazarus forth, but he still had his grave clothes on. But when Jesus was resurrected, He left His behind."

That shook me.

Because too many of us are trying to walk into new life while dragging dead things with us.

God is calling us forward, but instead of stepping into the new, we’re still wrapped in the old. We still carry mindsets, relationships, and habits that no longer fit who we’re becoming.

Lazarus came out of the tomb, but he was still bound. Alive, but restricted. Free, but wrapped up in what was.

And then there was Jesus. He left the grave clothes behind when He walked out of His grave. He didn’t bring His past into His resurrection. He didn’t hold onto the evidence of what He had been through.

And neither should you.

But let’s be real—letting go is hard. We pray for breakthrough while still clinging to the broken. We step into healing while holding onto the habits that made us sick. We walk toward the promise while refusing to release the pain.

We keep trying to put new wine into old wineskins.

But God says, "That old version of you can’t hold what I’m pouring out."

Some of us are still holding onto:

🚫 That relationship? It served its purpose. Shake it off.
🚫 That mindset? It got you here, but it can’t take you further. Shake it off.
🚫 That shame? That guilt? That fear? You can’t carry it where God is taking you. Shake. It. Off.

Jesus didn’t walk into resurrection still wrapped in what tried to bury Him. And you don’t have to either.

So today, I dare you to shake it off. Whatever is keeping you tied to a season that God has already called you out of—it’s time to let it go.

God is calling you forth. But you’ve got to decide: will you step into life still bound, or will you leave the grave clothes behind?

The choice is yours.

Worship Song 🎶

I Thank God – Maverick City Music

https://youtu.be/LM1qrx0Huds?si=4iWJM_VcGBxqaHaR

Declaration:

I am stepping into new life without the weight of my past. God is calling me forth, and I will not carry dead things into my destiny. I am free, I am healed, and I am walking in the fullness of what God has for me.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for calling me out of what tried to bury me. Thank You for using my sister to remind me that I can’t bring old things into my new season. Help me to leave behind anything that keeps me tied to my past.

I release the weight of my old season, and I step fully into the new life You have for me. Give me the strength to shake off what no longer serves me, and the wisdom to recognize what cannot come with me into my next.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

My Sister and I!
Scripture References

📖 John 11:43-44 (NIV) – Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb.
"When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face."

📖 John 20:6-7 (NIV) – Jesus leaves His grave clothes behind.
"Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen."

📖 Matthew 9:17 (NIV) – New wine can’t go into old wineskins.
"Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

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