Skip to main content

All I Have

Image
By
This morning as I picked up my Bible, I noticed my notepad and pen were holding a place in Exodus 34. That's where I'd left off last time I used this particular Bible. One of my favorite verses (I have lots of them) is in this chapter.

Verse 14 in the New Living Translation says You must worship no other gods, but only the Lord, for He is a God who is passionate about His relationship to you. I remember when I first discovered this scripture, I meditated on it for weeks and then held it close to my heart. It was so refreshing to see God in that light - as someone who is passionately chasing after us and longing for a close relationship. He still is that God, no matter what life may have thrown our way.

I continued reading and got stuck in verse 20. The last part says No one is allowed to appear before Me without a gift. I kind of stumbled on that scripture as I feel like I don't really have a gift to offer Him. I mean seriously, what could I possibly have to present to the King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords?

My mind went through a list of what I could offer. Money? Time? Anything I give Him has to be abstract since I can't physically offer Him an offering. Micah must have had similar questions when he penned:

Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves?
Should we offer Him thousands of rams and tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Would that please the Lord?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for the sins of our souls?
Would that make Him glad?

But then he answers his own questions with this:

No, O people, the Lord already told you what is good
and this is what He requires:
to do what is right
to love mercy
to walk humbly with our God.
Micah 6:7-8

I sit here empty handed feeling like I don't have anything to bring to God. I can't even do the normal religious stuff like teach a Sunday School class or lead a song service for Him. But is that really the types of things He wants? I think ultimately, He just wants our hearts. Whether we are a caregiver, a CEO, a daycare worker, teacher, or a fast food server He still wants the same thing from us. whether we are a millionaire, a pauper or somewhere in between He still wants the same thing from us. He wants our hearts. So when I think I don't have anything to offer Him - I actually have exactly what He wants: my whole heart dedicated to relationship with Him. I can do that from any position in life.

Today I will meditate on how He persistently and relentlessly pursues our hearts. I'll think about ways I can give Him more of my heart - maybe even pray He sheds some light on areas where I've held back from Him because I didn't feel I had anything to offer. I'll turn my thoughts to what it looks like to fully surrender everything to Him once again. Today I will give up myself to Him once again and I will rest in Him and trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ups and Downs

By
  Maybe it's just "that time of year" for me, but I've struggled a lot the last few weeks. I still affectionately  call it the caregiver's fog. Lol. Okay, maybe it's not-so-affectionately. I know I can share my true feelings with you guys because you get it. You understand the day-to-day grind of caregiving. The military has a saying about there being no easy day. I think we live in that reality. It's just not easy caring for another whole person, is it? Caregiving presents many difficulties. We can find ourselves alone, so very alone on this journey. It doesn't just go away. We don't just work through it. It seems to go on and on. There are lots of ups and downs - and that can be about every 90 seconds some days. Right? (smile!) As I've been working through this emotional maze the last few days, I turned my thoughts to Daniel. Let's take a realistic look at his circumstances because as we read his story in the Bible, we tend to glamorize i
Post a Comment
Read more

Seasons Are Temporary

By
  This morning, I found myself reading in Isaiah 28. I ended up there because I was looking for something in particular, and even though I didn't find what I was looking for, I found what I needed. God's so cool like that, isn't He? My eyes first fell on verse 29, which says in the NKJ: This also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance. I rolled that over in my mind and heart a few times and spent a few minutes thinking about how I'd seen His counsel in action in my own life. We've all had those times when we weren't sure what to do or where to go, and suddenly, an idea drops into our thoughts. There are many ways He provides direction for us. He may direct our steps through a passage of scripture, a trusted spiritual leader such as a pastor, a YouTube teacher, and maybe even a lowly blog writer. Lol. No matter how He chooses to deliver His counsel, it comes - but we must listen. After I had rolled these thoughts and t
2 comments
Read more

The Practical Side of Caregiving

By
 This week, I've been reading the book of Acts. I am enjoying the journey of the early church. Can you imagine what it would be like if your church saw 5000 people saved in a day? Mass chaos would ensue as leadership tried to figure out how to serve that many people! It'd be great and difficult at the same time - kind of like caregiving. Lol. But yesterday, I got stuck in Acts 9 thinking about a practical caregiving issue. In verse 32, we read that Peter was traveling around and encouraging all the new believers. He came to the town of Lydda. Verse 33 says in the NLT, There he (Peter) met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Now, the next verses talk about how Peter proclaimed healing, and the man just got up! That's so amazing. But my brain got stuck on some of the practical parts. Aeneas was paralyzed and bedridden. My mind compared the situation to my son, of course, even though he's not "paralyzed." I started wondering
Post a Comment
Read more