Gone.

What if tomorrow you woke up and everything you had was gone? I don't know why this keeps crossing my mind lately, maybe because of the economic crisis. But, seriously, if you woke up and all that was there was you? Would it be enough…would you relying on Jesus be enough? All too often I think it's easy to say that we trust God with our life, but do we? I am preachin' to the choir, because I know for sure I am definitely guilty of this. I give lip service to God, telling Him that I trust Him and His grace is enough, but I feel that my life doesn't demonstrate the very thing I'm saying to God. Sure, it's easy to tell God you trust Him (and maybe you do), but do you trust Him with EVERYTHING IN YOU? For shelter, for income, for love? For better, for worse? Richer or poorer? Yes, this is starting to sound like marriage vows, because it is. The church is the Bride of Christ, the body of believers that is supposed to be faithful to the very end, persevering no matter what comes our way. The Bridegroom wants to know that we depend upon Him- he wants us to remember that if everything else falls apart and if the material things of this world shatter to pieces, that we won't crumble with them. We will stand strong, remembering that the very God who "knit us together in our mother's womb" is more than capable of providing for our every need. Automatically, the story of Job pops up in my head when I hear about losing everything. I'm sure you've heard the story of a guy totally committed to His Savior, yet God takes everything he has away from him. The beautiful thing about this story is that Job didn't give up- he didn't crumble with the rest of his material world. He wasn't concerned with knowing the why, but the who. He recognized God's power and stood strong, praising Him to the end, saying "I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The Lord gave me everything I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!" (Job 1:21). WOW! Wow, wow. I don't know about you, but that is real- that's the kind of radical love that God wants from us. He is a jealous God, who has chosen us to be His special treasures among all things in creation. He wants us, all of us, no matter what (whoa- that was a line from The Notebook…good movie). Anyway, this is serious stuff and I can't tell you how hard this hit home for me. If everything was gone, would Jesus be enough? God doesn't want a bunch of lip service- He wants life service. And that's what I'm gonna try to give Him. He is enough- I just have to live like my life as if it depends upon that fact, because it does.

"Enjoy prosperity while you can. But when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. That way, you will realize that nothing is certain in this life." Ecclesiastes 7:14

"I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your laws. I cling to your decrees. Lord, don't let me be put to shame! If you will help me, I will run to follow your commands. Teach me, O Lord, to follow every one of your principles. Give me understanding and I will obey your law; I will put it into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. Give me an eagerness for your decrees; do not inflict me with love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word." Psalm 119:30-37