"I need ALL of you" I heard the Lord speak. ALL of me. He wants the good, the bad, and the ugly. He wants the things I am ashamed of. He wants the pains, the struggles, the frustrations, the questions. ALL.
Notice He didn't say He "wants." Though He does want all of us, in order to work in us, He NEEDS our cooperation.
We have to quit shoving things under the rug with God. It's impossible to love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, body, and strength - as we claim we do, if we don't give Him all of it. Just as an earthly relationship with secrets, it's those very things that destroy the intimacy and damage the relationship. We need to expose to Him the things He already sees - which in turn grants Him permission to heal, mend, and adjust our mindsets so we can be all we are called to be in Him.
Anything unrevealed will not be healed; will not be cleaned or made whole. If I spill something on the floor and leave it undealt with or carelessly spot clean, the damage remains. It may be visible damage or it may be damage that is only seen when the carpet is removed. In order to restore or fix the "spills" in our lives, we have to confront them head on by allowing God in. We must allow Him to shine His healing presence on the condition. When our "free will" chooses to let God in, He then has something to work with.
Upon opening the door to Him in ALL areas, we then need to trust Him. Trust Him that whatever He tells us is for our benefit and the benefit of others. Trust Him that even if what He tells us is painful at the moment, it's always for our greater good. He may require you to rip out the carpet to get to the spill. You may be, along with God, restoring the floor. Not an easy task. Not a joy ride... but His purpose is always greater... It's always to get you to the other side - to the side of His will - because He knows that it is in His perfect will, in His presence, joy and fulfillment are found.
I challenge you to surrender your ALL. Expect Him to do some rearranging because He will. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts... He won't always do what we are comfortable with. The process isn't always a quick work because anything rushed is rarely done well.
Quiet yourself. Wait on Him. His voice is calling out, "Give Me ALL of you."
(Matthew 22:37, Isaiah 55:9, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 139:23, Psalm 51:10-12, Isaiah 53:4-5, Psalm 30:11, Jeremiah 29:11, Jeremiah 18:4)
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