Know His Heart & You’ll Give Him All of Yours
There’s a recurring theme throughout the Bible that here lately has been echoing around the chambers of my heart like a beautiful haunting melody. It’s summed up rather nicely in the verses my mother chose to encourage me with in the ad she placed in my senior yearbook as I graduated high school.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6
But what does it really mean to trust Him? Of course we trust Him, we say. He’s God! But. Do we? Are we really going to Him first with everything? Are we praying every day and truly believing, “Your will be done [in my life] on earth as it is in Heaven?” Are we seeking Him in all we do and allowing Him to take the reins of our life? Or! Are we ill at ease with not knowing the future? Antsy and frustrated in the waiting. Do we feel, as the world often tells us, that we need to take charge of our own destiny, and that we can do whatever we dream as long as we set our mind to it (or some catchy phraseology along those lines)?
Autonomy is idealized in our culture. However, our Creator designed us for the complete opposite—total dependency. On Him! It’s in our make-up. And He had very good reasons for making us this way. Adam and Eve demonstrate very nicely for us (as do the Israelites and a host of other people we read about in the Bible!) what happens when humans step away even momentarily from total dependency (trust!) on God. It’s how sin first entered this world. Right from the get-go, with our free will in hand, we decided—maybe there’s another way besides God’s. It IS my life, after all. Maybe I know better what I should do and how my life should go. Hmmm…sound familiar?
Anyone ever witness a stubborn tantrum-bound toddler insisting on having their own way? Are his parents being mean and unfair or uncaring? Of course not! In fact, quite the opposite. Their love and care and concern for their child’s safety and well-being causes them to remain firm in their choices made on their child’s behalf. We, friends, are like the toddler. Our all-knowing, omnipotent, ever-present Father sees all and works all things together for good, even when we don’t see it—even when our circumstances and emotions try to convince us otherwise. Our job is to trust in Him and rest in His love and care. But how exactly do we do that when our world seems out of control and stress and anxiety levels are at an all-time high?
Well—we simply MUST get to know Him. I mean reeeeally know Him. We must read His story. We must learn His promises. We must rehearse those promises over and over again in prayer with a grateful heart for who He is and what He’s done. In other words, we must develop a relationship with Him and spend time in His presence. Like your own children, whom you love so very much, God loves us and wants tiiiime with us. He didn’t want robots, programmed to “love” Him, any more than you do. That’s why He gave us free will. How would you feel if your children wanted nothing to do with you? How would you feel if your heart nearly burst with love for them and yet they would never give you the time of day nor listen to anything you had to say? What if you saw them in danger and only wanted to help them and keep them safe, but they would not allow you to come close enough so that they could hear your voice? What if you were so very rich and desired to give them gifts and help them in their need, and yet they would not even acknowledge you? How would you feel? How do you think the Father feels when we only talk to Him when we need or want something and then we get upset with Him when bad things happen in this broken, sin-infested world or when we don’t get our way?
Our God is such a good and loving and patient Father. He made you because He loves you and wants your heart. Allll of it (not just the pieces you’re okay with handing over). He sees the version of you that He created you to be. And He knows the path (obstacles and all!) you must take to get there, and He promises to be right there with you, every step of the journey. And as you follow Him, little by little you’ll start experiencing the abundant life He died to give you. You know, the one overflowing with joy and peace and love, regardless of circumstances? Because the way is through Him and Him alone. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Spend time with Him. In His Word. In prayer. Get to know Him. For real. (Ask Him for help getting started or continuing further on—there’s grace for that, among many other things! He’ll do it!) And then you will see how much He truly loves you and how so very worthy of your trust He is.
Love,
Layna Fulop
