Most Things or Everything
Most Things or Everything
So…. I am in a hard season and maybe you are too. You know, the thing about hard seasons is that subtly, without us even realizing it, we shift our eyes from looking up to looking at our current situation. Before we know it, we are consumed by our pain, our frustration, our disappointment, our fears, etc. etc. etc. And when that happens, Satan is pleased. He wants nothing more than to isolate us and convince us that we just can’t be okay, or move on, or get on the other side of this. We claim that we have surrendered all, but have we? Have we given Him most things or everything? There is a difference.
We cling to our pain with our arms wrapped around it tightly. It is our pain, our hurt, our ache – yet, God waits for us to hand it over. How do we lay it down and move past it? How do we release it when it feels so incredibly unfair? Just as if it were a tangible object, we open our arms, stretch them out and let it roll off our finger tips. We look up and we whisper, “Here – it is no longer ours, it is Yours, Lord. Use it as you see fit.” And we choose to instead cling to our Savior, wrapping our arms tightly around Him. He doesn’t want to carry most things, He wants everything.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties (cares) on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” I Peter 5:6-10
We say that we know who we are in Christ, yet we seek the approval of our peers, our employer and our parents. We crave it and believe that we need it desperately. We want others to validate our worth. But in Galatians 1:10 Paul said, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10) God doesn’t want us to believe most things, He asks us to believe everything that He said. He says that we are His child, fearfully and wonderfully made, His masterpiece. We have been redeemed and forgiven. He has chosen us, loves us lavishly and we are now His. He says we are enough. He sees us. He knows us. He loves us - so much we cannot even comprehend it. We are to be like Paul – single mindedly living to please God – no longer living to please others or to gain approval. God has approved us.
Well, what about all our needs? I mean we trust God to meet most of them, right? So, are we supposed to trust God with most things or with everything? We must be careful to not compartmentalize God. We do not get to reserve some needs and wait for them to be met by others. When we long for someone to meet our need – we are making them our Jesus. Jesus is Jesus. He is the only One who can meet all our needs. He should not be most things to us, He should be our everything. “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
So today, ask yourself… have you given God most things or have you given Him everything?
Because we are His, we can resist Satan. We can stand firm in our faith – leaning on God for everything – believing He has us - knowing others are fighting the same battles – and sure that He will use this hard season for good. And at just the right time He will do as promised in I Peter 5:10 (see above).
He will restore us.
He will confirm us.
He will strengthen us.
He will establish us.
In Him, we don’t have most things, we have everything we need – every single thing.
p.s. from Pam:
This word EVERYTHING is stuck in my mind. Who is He? EVERYTHING! What does He want from me? EVERYTHING! God wants to teach us something here. I want us to talk about it. What does it mean? Think about it - EVERYTHING. Pray about it - EVERYTHING. Email me at masterwhatmatters@comcast.net and let me know what it is about that word and in regard to your relationship with Jesus that you would like for us to discuss. (I know - I write, you read - but to me - we are talking. ;-) ) If the Holy Spirit is prompting you to reach out to me - do it - right now. You are not the only one who has the same question, thought, concern, struggle, desire, etc. I can’t wait to see what God shows us. He is our everything!
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