A recurring question that Jesus has been asking me: "Keva, do you trust me? Am I really enough?" The Bible study that Lovely Branches Ministries is doing right now is called "Stuck" by Jennie Allen. In the chapter on worry and fear she shared this verse: I Peter: 2:24 "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed." Jennie shares:
"Our freedom cost Christ everything. Because He died and defeated sin and'
death in His resurrection, we have the power to "die to sin". Freedom did
not come cheap, but it is there for us to take freely. Surrender is difficult,
but God calls us to it because when we die--die to our hopes for our lives,
our need to please everyone, our demands, our fear of failing, our need to
promote ourselves, our control, our fear of loss and hardship--we find freedom.
He brings life from death--God can do that in us.
God is asking us. Do you trust me? Do you trust me when your life is out of
control? Do you trust me when you lose your job? When your husband loses
his job? Do you trust me when your child is rebelling? Do you trust me when
you are being misunderstood? Do you trust me when you are craving to be
married and there is no potential husband in sight? Do you trust me when I
ask you to risk your comfort, your security?
No one ever told me how insane Christianity was before I signed up.
No one told me that it would cost me everything.
But in surrendering everything, we find freedom."
F. B. Meyer in the book Streams in the Desert writes:
"This is the blessed life--not anxious to see far in front, nor eager to choose the
path, but quietly following behind the Shepherd, one step at a time...The
Oriental shepherd was always out in front of the sheep. He was down in front.
Any attack upon them had to take him into account. Now God is down in front.
He is in the tomorrows. It is tomorrow that fills men with dread. God is there
already. All the tomorrows of our life have to pass Him before they can get
to us."
What I have discovered, especially in the past three years since my husband, Ty went
to his forever home with Jesus, is that the more I trust God and do not fear and worry the more joy and freedom I have. He doesn't want me to worry or be afraid but to find peace and fulfillment in Him alone as I take His hand each day and rest in His love. Jesus said in Mark 8:34-37: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous an sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
The life application commentary from my Bible offers this challenge:
"We should be willing to lose our lives for the sake of the gospel, not because
our lives are useless but because NOTHING--not even life itself--can compare to
what we gain with Christ. Jesus wants us to CHOOSE to follow him rather than
to lead a life of sin and self-satisfaction. He wants us to stop trying to control
our own destiny and to let Him direct us. This makes good sense because, as
the Creator, Christ knows better than we do what real life is all about. He asks
for submission, not self-hatred; He asks us only to lose our self-centered
determination to be in charge. Many people spend all their energy seeking
pleasure. Jesus said, however, that a world of pleasure centered on possessions,
position, or power is ultimately worthless. Whatever you have on earth is only
temporary; it cannot be exchanged for your soul. If you work hard at getting
what you want, you might eventually have a "pleasurable" life, but in the end
you will find it hollow and empty. Are you willing to make the pursuit of God
more important than the selfish pursuit of pleasure? Follow Jesus, and you will
know what it means to live abundantly now and to have eternal life as well."
I spent much more time for alot of my life pursuing possessions, and pleasure and other's approval more than pursuing knowing and loving Jesus with all of my heart. Those things only brought temporary peace and joy. They truly were hollow and empty. What I know now and want to remind others never to forget is that only a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus where He is your pursuit (a choice that we make each day) over anything or anyone else will bring lasting peace, joy and contentment. Jesus plus nothing equals everything!!! As Jennie says in the Stuck study: "As God is exalted to the right place in our lives, a thousand problems are solved all at once." Another interesting thing that I have found as I pursue and rely on Jesus above everything and everyone else is that He helps me to appreciate and enjoy all the things and relationships that He has blessed me with so much more. I am content and grateful for all that I already have instead of wanting all the things that our world says is important. I want the blessings that come from knowing and loving Jesus more every day, the blessings and freedom that come from trusting Him and obeying His Word not just reading it. Do I always trust Him and obey? No, but that is my desire. Like Paul, I hate it when I choose "my way" instead of His. My way is never the best and I know that. I'm just so thankful that He loves me just as I am with all my faults, that He knows me intimately and has promised never to leave or forsake me. It does break my heart when I break His with my selfishness, arrogance, pride, worry, fear, impatience, anger, etc....all sins that He suffered and died for. What's so wonderful is that as I come to Him seeking His forgiveness that He lovingly and patiently forgives me and holds me close. And hopefully, as I seek Him and love Him more each day that His glory will shine through me, that He will increase and I will decrease and that I will choose to TRUST and OBEY more and more because as the hymn says: "there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey!" Next month I'll share from a young lady who did trust and obey and how Jesus is using her to share His love and comfort with many. Thanks so much for journeying with me on this road of growing closer to Jesus every minute of every day!!!
Here are two songs that I want to leave you with. The first one is "Trust and Obey" and the second is "His Strength is Perfect". To me they kind-of go together. We need His strength to be able to trust and obey. It's so great to be reminded that in our weakness, He is there to carry us and that we are strong in Him. The one video pictures a father holding the hand of his child just like Jesus does for us. The next one has such beautiful pictures of God's creation. Enjoy them both and be reminded of God's overwhelming love for you!
Keva, Thank you for sharing your heart for Jesus through your words, scriptures, quotes, and songs. How wonderful that you are being used by God to point people toward pursuing Him above all other things this life has to offer!
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