“ALL IN”
“because God has said ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
One of the things I love about a plenty too much thinker is that they think in terms of total commitment. They are “all in.” That’s the way God is with us. He is absolutely committed to be all we need Him to be for everything we will always need Him to be forever. Even when we are faithless the Bible says He is faithful. I remember one time my Mom telling God she felt that she had failed as a Mom. The Lord told her that though she had failed (we all fail as parents) He hadn’t failed. Shortly after that God did miracles in all of her kid’s lives. Aren’t you thankful He never gets tired of being totally committed to us?
The question is whether we have the same mindset towards God that He has towards us. One of the things we are warned about in the Bible is being doubleminded or half-hearted in our commitments and decisions. When people are half way committed to their marriage, to their church, their calling, they waver back and forth and become easily defeated and discouraged. Jesus would teach us you can’t serve two masters. I like the saying “if you chase two rabbits both will get away.” We don’t want to be like the guy in the civil war who couldn’t decide if he was confederate or union so he wore the shirt of the union and the pants of the confederates. He ended up getting shot by both sides.
I see the danger during this pandemic time of allowing ourselves to become fuzzy about our commitments. It was easy before to commit to your church, a small group, your ministry, and the mission that the Lord has called us to. Things have become fuzzy with stay at home orders, social distancing, and all of the rest. I believe it is so important to renegotiate with the Lord what it means to be “all in” to his calling in this moment in history. It may mean new uncomfortable choices like joining a zoom group, actually watching a whole service online even though things are distracting you, being willing to wear a mask to help someone else not feel uncomfortable. Commitment always involves sacrifices. But defining those commitments will be what God uses to bring you a sense of authority, calling, and boldness in your walk with God. Don’t let yourself drift to the fringes, don’t become passive or less zealous for the Lord. Even when it is hard God will be all in to anointing you as you are all in to serving Him. Be “all in” because God is “all in” for you.