Nothing Less Than The Best

Have you ever had moments where you’re trying really hard, and you think you feel like a ‘good’ Christian, but you’re just not happy? Nothing seems to go right, everyone gets on your nerves and life seems to just stay difficult. Not that you thought becoming a Christian would mean everything would be all roses all the time, but you thought at least things would seem better because you ‘love the Lord’ and maybe He’d shell out some blessings onto you…

The thing is, Jesus promised us there would be problems in this life (John 6:33, 1 Peter 4:12); becoming a Christian won’t magically make things disappear or get better. But He also promised that if we obeyed Him and loved Him, He’d lead us through our troubles. (Psalm 46:1-3, Psalm 91:14; Psalm138:7) He will keep His promise to keep you—meaning that He will love you and hold you with Him in eternity, if you love and obey Him. (Deuteronomy 6:3, 7:12; John 14:23, 15:10; Philippians 4:9; James 1:12-13)

The other thing is, if you believe in His promises, and you’re still miserable, then you’re not really loving Him. You’re living a double life; partly of God, partly of the world. Except, the Bible is clear that you can’t both love the world and love God. (James 1:-4, James 4:8; 1 John 2:16-17) There’s a sin buried deep (or maybe not so deep) in your heart keeping you distant from Him; keeping the full capacity of His Greatness from you… (1 Thessalonians 4:8)

What it boils down to is if you’re going to live for God, then you should be sold out for Him as much as He’s sold out for you. How can you expect to feel His immense love if you don’t give Him the same in return? God literally gave it all for you. (John 3:16, Ephesians 2:4-7, 1 John 4:10) He left nothing on that cross for you to bear. (2 Corinthians 5:21) How can you not give Him your all? He (most likely) isn’t asking the extreme that He gave. He just wants your heart—all of it. (Proverbs 8:17; Jeremiah 29:13-14; Matthew 22:37) If you want all that God has to offer you, then you have to be willing to offer Him just as much, knowing it will never compare to His sacrifice. (Romans 12:1-2) You know the saying: ‘You get what you give?’—yeah, it’s like that. (2 Chronicles 15:2) (Except again, you’ll still gain more than you can ever give.)

If you’re halfway living for God, you’re missing so much! Give it your all; it should be all or nothing. If it’s not your all, it really is nothing. (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36) He won’t settle for anything less than your best; and neither should you.