What Is Included in “All”?
Our pastor at church here in Japan spoke about this topic & it encouraged my thoughts for today.
We have been talking a lot about holiness in my blog & the sermon’s subject was about committing our all to God—basically: Holiness.
So, because it was an encouraging summary for me, I thought it might be useful for you as well.
Our pastor talked about several verses that mention what we ought to commit to God, to include our way, our works, our burdens, & our sins (I also added our thoughts, because so much of what we do stems from our thought patterns & what we entertain there).
Commit Your Ways
The first verse was Psalm 37:5—”Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, & He shall bring it to pass.”
Other translations say to “commit everything you DO to the Lord.”
You can also see a similar command in 1 Corinthians 10:31, where He tells us: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
These 2 verses stand out to me because while they may seem a little “DUH,” how many of us can really, honestly say that we commit ALL we do to God?
How often do I make little decisions for ME? How often do I plan or judge according to what I think is best or what I think I want or need?
Can I honestly say that even in everything I EAT or DRINK & ALL that I do is done to glorify God? Even something as simple as what I choose to consume?
In All Your Ways… Acknowledge HIM… As LORD of Your Life
Then, in Proverbs 3:6, God reminds us that “In all your ways acknowledge Him, & He shall direct your paths,” which is not a “choose your own adventure & then ask God to bless it, but rather taking time to acknowledge that His ways are best, His wisdom is higher than ours, & that we should live according to HIS guidance, not ours.
“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord.
‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are My ways higher than your ways
& My thoughts than your thoughts.'” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
And again, several times, God warns us in His Word about the idea of living as we see fit… living according to whatever seems right in our own eyes (Proverbs 14:12; Isaiah 5:21; Proverbs 21:2; Proverbs 12:15; Judges 17:6; Judges 21:25).
Everything… Not Just the “Important” Stuff
EVERYTHING we DO ought to be committed to God, even in the planning or scheduling, solutions or fixes, our day-to-day activities & plans… EVERYTHING ought to be committed to HIM & offered to Him in exchange for His will.
Why? Because He ALONE knows us beyond any level we could even know ourselves. HE sees way down the path to eternity & how every piece fits together, every ripple effect. He ALONE knows all of that AND what will ultimately be to our good & the good of those He puts in our lives.
So often I get caught up in the day-to-day, not thinking about how God MADE that day (Psalm 118:24) AND has prepared good works in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
SO, commit your ways… everything you do… to God.
Commit Your Works
The second commitment flows from the first one we just talked about… to commit our WORKS to the Lord. (Proverbs 16:3; Colossians 3:23)
While these 2 concepts are very similar & with definite overlap, I think it’s important to take some time to consider our motivations as we do works for God.
Are we doing it to appear “good”? Are we doing it to “balance the scales”? Are we doing it because “it’s the right thing to do”? Are we doing it because “it’s what church people/”good” Christians do”?
Or, as I have mentioned a few times from Jerry Bridges’ book “The Pursuit of Holiness,” how his repeated reminder about holiness is to do only what pleases God for ONLY THE REASON OF pleasing God?
Are we committing our service of God TO God or do we have other motivations that lead us onward?
Why Do You Serve God?
Do you read your Bible or pray to “be a good Christian”? Or because you know it honors God to obey Him & you trust His command to do so is for your good?
Do you serve at church because someone asked you to? Or because you feel you’re supposed to? Or because you want to honor God & serve His people whom He loves?
The works you’re doing… are you truly doing them for HIM?
Commit Your Burdens/Cares
We also are called to commit our BURDENS to God.
God tells us in Psalm 55:22 to cast our cares (burdens, worries, anxieties, stress) on Him because He cares for us.
How often do I try to shield myself my way? Or soothe/placate myself? Or sustain myself? Or solve on my own, the best I know how, without stopping to ask God for His Almighty Wisdom & Way?
How often do I diligently take even my little worries, stresses, concerns, fears, anger, hurt, etc. to God, diligently seeking HIM as my hope & answer in times of trouble?
I could do a whole post on this subject alone, because I struggle with anxiety & overwhelm, checking out when it happens… I have wrestled the snares of depression on multiple occasions, blessed that God kept me from ending my life.
Even the “Little” Troubles in Life
Even “little” concerns & burdens, when shoved aside either because we’re overwhelmed or because we see no possible solution or means of healing/fixing it, build & grow the longer it takes us to commit them over to God for help.
We need to be careful to take our cares to Him, knowing He cares for us, asking for His solution, His healing, His guidance & wisdom. He is our refuge & strength, our very present help in times of trouble. (Psalm 46)
We’re not meant to be stronger, we’re made to NEED GOD. HE is our strength & OUR strength is made perfect in our weakness because it’s in our weakness that we have no choice but to hand the reins completely over to the One Who is ABLE. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)
Commit Your Sins to Jesus (Forgiveness)
The final commitment that our pastor addressed is our SIN… the burdens we bring upon ourselves either by inaction or by wrong action… anything that is not of God’s will or is in avoidance of God’s will.
I am not just talking about salvation & getting into Heaven, being redeemed & restored & forgiven by God, through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, rising again as Conqueror over both OUR sin AND death.
I am talking about keeping your heart RIGHT with God, not allowing your mistakes to drive you away from God, but to continually bring them to God for restoration & help moving forward rightly.
Calling Sin SIN & Daily Asking Forgiveness As You Fail & Grow in Obedience (with God’s Help)
What do you tend to hold back from Him? What areas do you feel His nudge but you try to ignore because it seems intimidating or out of your control? (Ask for HIS help in doing it!) What sins do you justify or sugar-coat?
God is encouraging me to call sin SIN.
When I have a “harmless” (because it’s “just” in my mind) fantasy—that’s LUST.
When I eat “just a little more” after I KNOW I am full because “it just tastes so good,” knowing it is abusive to my body which God made—that’s GLUTTONY.
When I am feeling hazy & foggy & it just feels like walking through sinking sand trying to get anything done & instead of leaning into God for HIS strength, guidance, & help, I check out for tv, videos, games, etc.—that’s SLOTHFULNESS.
When He nudges my heart to speak Truth into a conversation, but I am too concerned with being disliked than I am about their well-being, healing, & growth… or when I don’t serve or love someone actively because I don’t know if they like me—that’s PRIDE.
And those are things I personally need to come clean to Him about regularly, asking Him to renew my heart & mind, through His Word & the work of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:22-24; Romans 12:2), teaching me RIGHT patterns to replace my wrong ones because the wrong ones have been a part of my life for so long that they are oftentimes done without a second thought. This ought NOT be so!
I need to commit my sins to Him, repenting daily of all of my SELF-decisions & asking Him to forgive me & guide me in the ways of His Truth… failing forward.
Not Victory over Sin… But Obedience When Faced with Sin
When we turn our life over to God, God promises to help sanctify us through the Holy Spirit, but that takes obedience on our part, with God’s help. God gives us power OVER sin & promises to provide a way out when faced with temptations. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
I love how Jerry Bridges said that we should not describe our wrestle with sin, as Christians, as DEFEAT or VICTORY, but rather as DISOBEDIENCE or OBEDIENCE.
When we sin, as Christians, it is not defeat. It is disobedience… because God PROMISES to provide a way out if we trust Him in the midst of it… but so often we want it so much that we push His loving nudge aside & fixate on that thing we ought not think or do.
Commit your sins to God for forgiveness, even as you make mistakes today. Always maintain a lowly, humble heart, willing to see your wrongs & ask for His help.
Commit Your Thoughts
I wanted to not neglect one final area of commitment for discussion today: our thought patterns, as God tells us to take every thought captive & make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), because our thoughts, where we dwell in our minds, often leads to our actions later down the road (Proverbs 4:23).
He instructs us to meditate on His Word day & night. (Joshua 1:8)
Renew your minds, through prayer (reliance on God) & reading/knowing the Bible (God’s Word).
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test & approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing & perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)
Commit Your All to God-What Are You Holding Back?
Shine HOPE by determining to diligently commit your ways, your works, your burdens, your sin, & your thoughts to GOD to live in a way that pleases Him—a holy life.
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, & rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-16; Leviticus 19:2)
Coming Next Week
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Sea Glass Necklace
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