If God told you to pack up everything and leave today, would you do it? What would be the one thing you wouldn’t want to let go? Family, a significant other, your career, friends, your hobby… all things that are a blessing and make life beautiful. We just have to make sure they stay in their proper place, after God. God’s word to us should reign supreme. It shouldn’t matter who said what or what our plans might be, if God speaks to us, we act on it, regardless of what we feel or think. (I’m still trying to get to this place of pure obedience!) If we aren’t careful, it is easy to start placing more importance and value on the things in life over our relationship with God.

In Luke 18, a wealthy ruler asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus reminded him of the commandments to which he replied he has been following since his youth. When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the man heard this he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy (Luke 18:18-23).

Over time, did this wealthy ruler let wealth become his god where he valued it more than Jesus’ word to him? He was earnestly trying to live for God and to honor God, but even still, after a word from God, he had difficulty giving everything earthly up for treasure in heaven. Reality check. We all need them sometimes 🙂 Two of the ten commandments talk about gods and idols. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” (Exodus 20:3-4) Notice that these are two separate commandments, God purposely placed individual importance on gods and “graven images”.  We usually think of gods and idols as statues or images that people bow down and worship. Yes, those are gods, but a god or idol can also be anything you put before God.

“We won’t know the blessings of God’s plan for us until we obey Him completely.”

I heard that from a pastor last Friday. Only when we honor God for who He is will we be able to understand what God wants to do in our lives. God wants to know that He comes first in your life, before anyone or anything, because only then can He act as God in your life. It’s hard for God to be God when we have given other people, thoughts, ambition, goals and everything else the time and attention we should be giving to God, holding them in a place where only God should be. If we ask God to be our helper, keeper, provider, director, comforter, etc., we also have to allow Him be these things in our lives. We will walk in the full promises of God in our lives if we are completely surrendered to Him.

Let it go. In the moment, it may seem like you are giving up A LOT, and it’s hard, you don’t want to let go of whatever you’re holding on to. Stop hanging with your bestie, breakup with your bf/gf, quit the job, move to the new city, don’t do the drugs, drink the alcohol, or go to the party, listen to your mom… trust God. If He is telling you to do something, do it. He’s got your back and there’s nothing but good that will come from your obedience. He has so much more for you if just trust Him. Remember this scripture, Then Jesus said to them,

“I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom who will not receive many times more in this age—and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Luke 18:19)

If you think about what God has planned for you when you obey Him, you’ll quickly realize how little you are really giving up. 

With love,

Carin