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Jesus calls us to be whole hearted: Give him total surrender, throwing ourselves and our lives at his feet to do with whatever he pleases. Jesus accomplishes much with (in and through) those who are totally available to him.
When God invites us to do anything, we must give him our “yes”, even if we doubt we can do it, otherwise we sin. Any “no” we say to God has ramifications that are not good. When we feel spiritually dry or confused or blocked, or if it seems like we’re in a battle with demonic forces and our victory is elusive or temporary, it’s often because we’ve said “no” to God somewhere, sometime, perhaps a long time ago.
Giving God Our Best
When you’re invited to do something good, do it! Whole hearted! The Lord will work out the details. God equips us for success based on our “yes”, not on our “maybe after I feel ready for it”. Not sure if the invitation is from God? Say yes anyway! He’ll protect you from doing what he is not asking you to do (if you’re listening).
God calls us to this life of surrender and whole heartedness, worship, adoration and ministry right where we are, in our ordinary lives, in our struggles and sufferings and imperfections. Recently, I repented from a “no” that I said to God over 20 years ago. After going to the Sacrament of Confession, I immediately discovered a new freedom and new solutions that had previously been evasive. What do you need to repent from in order to give God your 100 percent very best?
Time is short. Why not give God our very best? Why not be whole hearted — all the time, every day while he is still giving us life on earth to make a difference?
We could die at any moment. Even if we live to a very old age, will we be able to say that we gave God our very best? Time is precious, because the “now” moment is gone before we can finish saying the word “now”. Life is precious. Every moment of life is a gift from God and therefore precious, even when it feels terrible because of our sufferings.
This moment right now is a gift from God. And the next and the next and all the way until we reach eternity. Why not commit our lives whole heartedly to giving God our very best today? Right now! Any delay could find us at heaven’s door facing Jesus with a need to seek his mercy for all our delays, all our mediocre efforts, and our lukewarm faith.
How to start (or improve) giving God our best
Giving God our best starts with a personal relationship with Jesus our Savior. But that is just the beginning. We also need to have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, who makes us holy and guides us in our calling to continue the mission of Christ using — excelling in the use of — the gifts and talents and resources that God has given us and the wisdom and knowledge we gained from experience, including (or perhaps, especially) what we learned in our hardships and sufferings. It’s the only way to succeed in being whole hearted.
© 2016 by Terry A. Modica
Next: To come fully alive in the Holy Spirit, see our group of WordBytes and prayers. Begin at “Who Is The Holy Spirit?“
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