Fully Invested

Have you ever attempted to complete the Lord’s will and plan for your life on your own? How far did you get? How successful were you?

There are three types of people in this world: those who partner with the world and declare their own will, those who knows what God’s purpose is for them yet attempts to accomplish it by their own strength, wisdom and might, and those who fully surrenders to God’s plan and His steps on getting it done. I can attest to attempting to them all, but only one has warranted lasting fruit and a transformed heart. Based on my experiences and observations, I learned that our experiences and level of success are contingent on truth of the desire of our hearts. There are individuals who partner with the world and do life on their own volition and are happy and successful by the world’s definition. The enemy tempted Jesus with abundance and glory as well (Matthew 4:1-11) but at what cost. If one’s desire and primary goal is to be happy, comfortable or famous, then this takes precedence over how they attain it, as long as they do. But their salvation and comfort will end here.

Then there are those who knows God and may have walked with Him, but once knowing (or think they know) of His kingdom purpose for them, they stop seeking His counsel and pursue it by their own understanding. This is not a surprise to God but rest assured, this route will not produce anything but heartache, confusion and despair.  Jesus is Lord and we are to declare His full reign over every area of our lives because He does care (Matthew 10:29-31). He is not just Lord of our “why” (purpose) but also the “how” which means He is the one that determines our steps to follow and walk in (Proverbs 16:9; Psalm 119:105). When we come into agreement with His plan and purpose, naturally He is the only one who can tell us how to accomplish it, but if our goal is to merely find purpose or our “why”, then this takes precedence over the “how”, so once we have what we want, then we will return to God when we are in trouble and need Him. Once built upon the Lord, there is only one way, all others will certainly lead destruction.

Then there are those whose “whys” and “hows” are built upon Him their desire for simply, Him. The desire of these individuals is God Himself, therefore a love for Him that will drive their passion to share His name and glory to others. They do not care how it gets done, loud and on billboards or a gentle whisper in someone’s ear, as long as they are with Jesus and following His instructions and ways, they are content. Their goal is His fame, His honor and this takes precedence over their everything in their lives. Sure, they have other desires, but a life fully surrendered finds those desires being transformed through sanctification and pointing back to Jesus. So, when these individuals find themselves trying to venture out on their own, they too are met with destruction and inner turmoil, as their flesh goes against the desire of their heart (Romans 7:15-20). Their works are futile and fruit, bare, and they begin to recite words like “stagnate” and “” to describe their season. Again, once built upon the Lord, apart from Him, we can do nothing.

So what separates us from those who partner with the world? Why partner with God when we can partner with the world and experience some temporal contentment on this earth? Because partnering with the world is temporal and does not grant us eternal salvation which is truth and permanent. There is a reason Jesus was not born into a wealthy family, lived in a grand home (He was homeless here on earth), and did not shout His true identity from the rooftops. He displayed to us that the evidence in our honoring God was by how we walked and surrendered to whatever plan, will decision and lifestyle He has declared for us. When God is your treasure, then all other things and people are considered loss (Philippians 3:8) and carries no weight or value to your purpose, identity, joy, hope and peace. We don’t have to justify anything to ourselves or to others when we acknowledge God as the supreme judge over our lives. We have the gift of having a taste of heaven here on earth through our alignment and surrender to Jesus and the assurance of its full course when we pass from this world.

I ask you, what is the treasure of your heart? Who is Lord over your life, decisions, and decision-making? I pray that as you process these questions, you remain truthful to yourself and not be afraid or feel condemned by what is revealed. God honors holy integrity and there is room for Him to work in our hearts, and evidence of our love and trust for Him when we are, even if it looks gross and unpleasing to us. He is the Master of making something out of nothing. He is the Author of our salvation and the Savior of our daily mess. Take heart! He can renew your mind, clean your heart, purify your desires and by His mercy, extend relentless patience towards transforming you in preparation towards full surrender.

When we repent, trust and abide, God will do all the heart work that will grant us new desires and restore unshakeable joy and peace to our obedience.