Made for More
Have you ever felt like something is missing in your life? Have you ever felt you should be doing more? Do you feel empty on the inside in spite of having a “good life”? Do you feel unfulfilled? Are you searching but don’t know what for? Have you tried different jobs, relationships or life experiences looking to fill that emptiness in your heart?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions my first question would be, have you given your life to Jesus? That is, have you completely surrendered who you are, your life, your heart, your everything to him? It is important to live fully surrendered to God because then and only then can we know the worth of who we are, how to treat others fairly and live in unity, prioritize and grow in faith, understand grace and truly know what love is, the **Agape Love spoken of in the Bible.
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" Ephesians 5:1-2
If I’m being honest, it has been a struggle for me to always live with a heart fully surrendered at all times in all circumstances. I believe it’s partly due to not wanting to feel vulnerable and exposed, to feel my life isn’t my own to control, to be totally dependent on someone unseen. Also I forget in the moment to take my cares and concerns, all my burdens to the Lord. I see my problem and immediately go into fix it mode instead of asking WWJD and praying and asking the Holy Spirit for his assistance. This makes no sense because I know when I take things into my own hands I totally botch it up however when I do live surrendered and cast my burdens on God the solutions are permanent rather than temporary.
Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
Many concede Jesus was a real person but believe he was only that, a person, not part of the Trinity, (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit). They believe he came to earth did some great works then was put to death, murdered, but not for our sins. They believe at most he was a prophet, an evangelist or a teacher but not God himself come to save us.
Those people are wrong!! I’m not going to debate the reality of who Jesus is here today. I will say this though. If when you die your choices are Heaven or hell which would you prefer? Think on that for a moment. Really think about it. It’s not lights out forever darkness no more consciousness, but burning hot, sulphury smelling, eternal torture enduring (imagine your worst fear being repeated over and over again) or Eternity with God, which is like nothing we have ever experienced in beauty or peace. Which do you choose?
I choose Heaven!
If I, a Christ follower, a disciple of Jesus, a pew (bench) warming, Bible reading, Holy Spirit believing Christian, has trouble surrendering ALL, how do I share Jesus with everyone I meet and expect them to fully surrender? How do I help them give themselves to Jesus?
I’ve come to understand it’s a process. A daily process of faith steps. What do I mean? I have to decide what I can’t see, what I have yet to experience, what no one has come back to tell me about is real. Heaven and hell are real. With that eternal perspective I must then chose to live for one or the other. How? By not living for myself, by not satisfying myself, by trying to do what is right in the eyes of God over what is right in the eyes of man. By studying the Word. Getting on my face and asking Him what YOU want me to do, Holy Spirit please guide me. By daily declaring my life is Yours, not my will but Yours be done. It’s a quest for truth, a process of prayer and scriptures and I’ve found if I can stick with it and set myself to seek the Lord, I have better success with those empty feelings, those walls I can’t seem to break through, those moments of discouragement happening less and less.
God is, has always been, and will always be a loving, compassionate God. One who wants each and every one of his children to fully know him. To love him is to be transformed by him. But it is a continuous process because we live in a fallen world that keeps trying to suck us back in with bright lights, deception and false promises. The closer we walk with Jesus the more we can discern HIS truth. The more we can discern His voice. The more we will find ourselves doing what is right, what is good in His eyes.
Put on your armour. Ephesians 6:11-23
Don’t be fooled by false promises, by temporary satisfaction, by glitz and glamour. Remember who lives in you, is greater than he that’s in this world.
“Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].” 1 John 4:4 AMP
Our identity is in God, he created us. He breathed his breath into our lungs. We. Are. His. We find joy and peace and love in our true identity. We can overcome the evil of this world that masquerades as good, or fun, or a path forward.
If you have given your life to Christ, you are a child of God, this is your identity. A child of the one true KING. You are in the world not of it, (John 15:19). Christ came and overcame the world to save you from your sin and an eternity in hell. LASTLY, never forget the power that lives inside you. Greater is He IN you than he IN the world (1 John 4:4). Believe whose you are, grow in your identity, be faithful to seek the truth. If you will walk closer to God than to this world you will come to know you are made for more, you will fulfill the purpose God planned for you before you were born. And that my friends is how to begin to fill in the empty spaces we feel in our hearts and our guts.
"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1 (NIV)
“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” Luke 9:23-25 ESV
**Agape love: It is the Highest of the four types of love in the Bible. Is not a feeling; it's more a call to action. We are free to choose or reject its motivation. Agape is a sacrificial, selfless, unconditional love that voluntarily suffers inconvenience, discomfort, and even death for the benefit of another without expecting anything in return. We are called to agape love through Christ's example: