You give and take away, Lord blessed be Your name.
Here I stand with arms wide open.
Life is a constant give and take. The heart is pulled, pushed and shoved in all kinds of places you never even knew it could go. I believe the reason there is so much anxiety in Christians is because we can't let go. We have this idea of how things are supposed to go. But they never do. Then when we have disappointment after disappointment we become guarded. Through hurt and feelings of failure we lock up the door of our hearts in fear of inadequacy. We are afraid to give ourselves a chance. Afraid to give others a chance. Afraid to give God a chance. Afraid to let grace in. It's a scary place to stand in front of God with open arms. To let the things and people you love most out of your hands. What we can't seem to grasp is they were never ours in the first place. They are first and always His. You're dreams, hopes, careers, finances, families, friendships, relationships, you name it - all His.
No matter when you came to Christ, at that moment your life would never be the same. You became His. (Galatians 2:20) He is not a domineering control freak of your life. He's the best thing that could have ever happened to your life. Because when you realize just how much you don't have in this life you realize just how much you have in Christ. We serve an all sufficient God. He needs nothing from us, yet gives us everything we need. It's an unexplainable relationship. It's nothing that makes sense on human terms. When you are at your lowest point, when you have no one to go to or talk to, He's always there. No, it's not tangible. You have to believe that He hears you, you have to believe that He loves you and cares about the details of your daily life. I remember an old acquaintance of mine that used to get in trouble frequently. He had a difficult time with bouts of addiction and really struggled. But he had a grandfather that took him in every time he was in need. That's how we are with God. No matter what junk we are going through, no matter how many stupid things we do, no matter how many times we break His heart, He always takes us in. Now I'm not saying we should abuse God's grace. We shouldn't. Our love should be so strong and so devoted that we never want to be in that place, but it happens. Sometimes we haven't done anything stupid at all and we are just going through a rough time. I say all this to say Jesus is not budging with you. I've been blessed to have a couple friends in my life that I felt like I could say anything to without fear of judgement. They were safe. Jesus is your safe place. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) And there is also no fear in love. (1 John 4:18) So how are we able to just open our arms to Jesus? How can we just say take it all, it's already yours anyways. Is it that easy? No, it's not. It's going to hurt. If it doesn't was there anything to lose in the first place? Letting go is hard. You've got to be fearless. You've got to know who you are in Christ. You have to remind yourself who He is and who you are in Him. You already know He loves you. Trust Him. The question is do you love Him? You've got to love Him more than anything else in this life. It's got to be a wild untamed love. There can be no restrictions. No ifs, buts or maybes. Do you love Him? If so you'll be able to stand with arms wide open.
Long ago the LORD said to Israel: "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. (Jeremiah 31:3)
Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed." (Isaiah 49:23 b)
No matter when you came to Christ, at that moment your life would never be the same. You became His. (Galatians 2:20) He is not a domineering control freak of your life. He's the best thing that could have ever happened to your life. Because when you realize just how much you don't have in this life you realize just how much you have in Christ. We serve an all sufficient God. He needs nothing from us, yet gives us everything we need. It's an unexplainable relationship. It's nothing that makes sense on human terms. When you are at your lowest point, when you have no one to go to or talk to, He's always there. No, it's not tangible. You have to believe that He hears you, you have to believe that He loves you and cares about the details of your daily life. I remember an old acquaintance of mine that used to get in trouble frequently. He had a difficult time with bouts of addiction and really struggled. But he had a grandfather that took him in every time he was in need. That's how we are with God. No matter what junk we are going through, no matter how many stupid things we do, no matter how many times we break His heart, He always takes us in. Now I'm not saying we should abuse God's grace. We shouldn't. Our love should be so strong and so devoted that we never want to be in that place, but it happens. Sometimes we haven't done anything stupid at all and we are just going through a rough time. I say all this to say Jesus is not budging with you. I've been blessed to have a couple friends in my life that I felt like I could say anything to without fear of judgement. They were safe. Jesus is your safe place. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) And there is also no fear in love. (1 John 4:18) So how are we able to just open our arms to Jesus? How can we just say take it all, it's already yours anyways. Is it that easy? No, it's not. It's going to hurt. If it doesn't was there anything to lose in the first place? Letting go is hard. You've got to be fearless. You've got to know who you are in Christ. You have to remind yourself who He is and who you are in Him. You already know He loves you. Trust Him. The question is do you love Him? You've got to love Him more than anything else in this life. It's got to be a wild untamed love. There can be no restrictions. No ifs, buts or maybes. Do you love Him? If so you'll be able to stand with arms wide open.
Long ago the LORD said to Israel: "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. (Jeremiah 31:3)
Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed." (Isaiah 49:23 b)
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