“Let go and let God” is bad theology, right beside other ‘fridge magnets like “God helps those who help themselves” and “God won’t give you anything you can’t handle on your own.”
When people say “let go and let God,” I think they mean that they are facing a situation that is beyond their control and therefore they are going to totally turn the situation over to God. But most often I hear the phrase spoken with the tone of resignation or giving up. My challenge with the phrase, since you asked, has to do with neglecting one’s own responsibility for whatever they are facing. While we should always acknowledge the sovereignty of God and our need for him in every waking moment, that acknowledgement does not mean that we extract ourselves from participating in the solution that God desires. For example, I believe God heals.
Two years ago I had a bicycle accident that resulted in two complete tears in the rotator cuff in my shoulder. I believe God heals, but I didn’t let go and let God. I went to the Emergency Room, scheduled an MRI, had surgery, and did 30 days of immobilization followed by another 30 days of physical therapy. Did God heal my shoulder? Yes. Even my surgeon acknowledged as much. But I needed to participate in God’s plan and provision.
God knows the truth of every situation we face and has sent his Holy Spirit to “guide us into all truth” (John 16:13). Truth is our friend. Sometimes truth reveals to us the deep hurt buried within. Sometimes truth shows us what changes we need to make. It may expose our weaknesses and limitations, or a character flaw we have. Truth may help us to see the cracks in a relationship that we can not objectively see ourselves. The Spirit may clearly point out our part of a conflict, even though we are naturally prone to accept the role of victim. This is merely a sampling to point out that when we are faced with a difficulty we cannot simply lay it down and walk away with the expectation that God will clean up the mess. Yes, God will come alongside us in our struggles and he will walk with us through the valleys. With us. Not for us.
So instead of letting go and letting God, maybe it is better to say that we’ll trust God to work in us and through us as we depend on his wisdom, provision and strength in spite of our own human limitations.