Luke 24: 30-32 (Msg) “And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized Him. And then He disappeared. Back and forth they talked. “Didn't we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”
There is a life, a beautiful life, beyond what you think you know. There is a life with peace and love everlasting, given freely, and leaving no regret. This is for all of you who worry constantly, and about everything. Instead of clinging to your troubles...instead of writhing in self-pity...instead of feeling that longing for something more without seeing the fruition you KNOW is there...let go. Just let it go...
When we succumb to all this world has to offer,we lose sight, or become spiritually blind, to what God is trying to tell us. What He has been trying to tell us all along is simply this...'Give it all to Me'. Give me your worries, your doubts, your fears, your weakness, your faults, your failures, your anger, your hatred, your depression, your sadness, your inability to just 'be' the person you know deep in your heart that you can be (but can no longer recognize or find).
'Give it all to Me.'
Give the Lord all your strengths, good times, happiness, accomplishments, material possessions. Give Him your heart...your soul...your spirit...your mind...
Give it to Him, not as the world gives, for He gives peace in return, but not as the world gives. Give all things to Him...in the spiritual. Get on your knees in humble reverence, not out of fearful submissiveness. Remember that none of us are perfect, and we have made some mistakes in our lives.
Take the time now and give up these mistakes. Feel them in your heart. See them in your thoughts. Say, 'God, I give up. I am sorry for _______. Just like I want others to forgive/pardon me for things that I do wrong to them, please forgive/pardon me for what I have done wrong to you, by not living the way I know I should.' Feel your heart break as you speak these words in total honesty (in spirit and in truth). You can replace these words with your own, as long as they convey the same message.
(For those of you that believe you are all-around good people that have no need for this, please remember... at one time in your life, you were an all-around good kid, and yet bad things happened to you. Others did not care what really drove you to be good, but you just simply wanted to obey to make mommy and daddy or whoever took care of you, proud. At one point in your life, you were simply happy relying on your caregiver(s) to provide for your needs, and you did not go out of your way to purposely do anything wrong. When told to stay away from the stove because it was hot, you scurried away happily into the arms of mom or dad. You obeyed out of love and trust that they knew what was best for you and everything would be okay. God is still our Father. He uniquely created us to be the people we are today. But somehow, we got lost, and that shiny stove was too tempting and we got closer and closer, until we could no longer hear the Father's voice calling us to Him. But like any good parent, the Father seeks His lost children and calls to them. He is reaching out to you now, before you touch that stove and get burned.)
Now take a deep breath. Feel everything deep inside. That full feeling you have deep within you, deeper than just what is in your stomach, beyond the organs that fill your body. If you can, picture a 'black hole' that has sucked up all the good and bad of you, including your experiences, right in the center of your chest (between the ribs and above the stomach). Close your eyes and picture yourself drawing all that is in that 'black hole' and simply releasing it all to God. Speak, 'Take all of me, God. Take all that is good and bad in me. Take it all from me, NOW! I need you in my life! Just like a baby/child needs its mother/father, Lord I need you to take care of me like I never could!'
Take a minute and cry, scream, whatever the moment leads you to do. Pause for a second and try feeling for that full 'black hole'. Can't find it? Or does that space suddenly feel...empty? Emptiness is the desired result now, for that is how you know you have given all to Him.
'But I did give everything! I still don't feel any different!' If you do not notice a feeling of being free from something, or notice a weightless feeling where there was once pressure, then you did not give everything to Him. Our own desire to have control over our lives is the most difficult thing to give up. But we cling to this control because we have been hurt in the past, and this is especially difficult when we have been hurt by people who were supposed to love us and care for us. God is not those people. He is God. Perfect in every way, and therefore He knows how to perfectly love you. He created you knowing full well that you would do things wrong and even hate Him at times, perhaps go your entire life not believing He exists. He also understands the question, 'If there is a God, why would He allow bad things to happen to good people?' If a child rides their bike crossing an intersection of a street, and someone hits them with their car, who would be in the wrong? The driver might have been speeding and therefore should have driven according to the posted speed limit. The child had been taught before that they are to stop at intersections and look both ways before crossing. In this scenario, the driver was purposely speeding and deliberately meant to hurt that child. The parent, knowing what is good for their child and wanting them to be healed, calls the ambulance, applies pressure where needed, and takes care of them at the hospital and during their aftercare. We are the child. God is the parent that has taught us, yet in our fun, we didn't listen. The driver is Satan, or the Evil One, who purposely seeks to harm us because he hates God, and therefore, hates God's creation.
With eyes still closed, tell the Lord to cleanse you of all your sins, or the things you have done wrong in your life, and invite Him into that empty space within you. Invite God into your heart. Ask Him to teach you how to love, and how to forgive. Ask Him to fill you with Himself (Holy Spirit), so that you are no longer empty. Say, 'I surrender to you, O God. I give you control and need you to fill me with You. All my efforts are nothing compared to what You can do. Be my Father again. Come into my heart, the door is open.'
This initial surrender, as I like to call 'The Awakening', is the hardest thing to do, but will give you the life you always wanted but never had, the life God originally intended. A life filled with peace, even through adversity. A life of love. A life where you are whole and no longer broken.
He will fill you. You are His beloved child. Your life will never be the same.
