Going all in for God

WHAT would happen if you went all in for God? What would this look like?

You say you’re a believer, but how much have you given? How much have you risked?

What if you placed the scariest, hardest challenge you face right now into his hands? What’s stopping you?

But wait a minute. That’s a lot to ask, isn’t it?

Let’s go back, rewind a bit first.

Let me warn you though, what follows are hard questions. But maybe,  just maybe, these questions point to freedom.

Let’s begin.

What do you carry in your heart that stops you?

What old wounds still remain open and bleeding?

What happened to you?

Who abandoned you?

Who hurt you?

What shame do you still carry deep inside?

These universal questions face us all. They unlock problems some of us have struggled with for years, decades even.

Living with an unsolved problem—an open wound—drives us to unhealthy action or despair.

Imagine you have a pipe leaking in your home. It’s dripping all the time. It’s soaking the carpet, the floor, and the wood is rotting away. You have no tools to fix it. Nobody to call for help. It drives you crazy.

Now, what’s the leaky pipe dripping in your memory?

What old trauma imprisoned you and keeps you locked up in the past?

Untreated emotional wounds continue to cause problems for us over and over again. Desperately, we need healing.

Still, instead of healing, we learn to cope. But coping isn’t healing. It’s just getting through another day while the emotional debt piles higher and higher. 

For years I attempted to hide from my old wounds. I soothed my pain by consumption. I ravenously ingested all manner of unhealthy habits, lifestyles, and attitudes. 

The first step to healing is to recognize the hurt, the old problem you could not solve on your own. It’s almost always connected to childhood trauma. Even while a baby grows in the womb, the mother’s stress affects the child.

So something painful happened to you.

It wasn’t your fault. You were just a kid.

And from that moment, the child was imprisoned.

So you embraced behaviors and attitudes to cope with living a life sentence. 

The reason the Christ story remains so powerful is due to its deep symbolic nature.

God gives up all his power and sovereignty to become a poor, vulnerable man. And finally, God dies a horrible, violent death. Then, he rises from the dead.

It’s the promise of abundant life. 

The reason the Christ story transforms lives is because it’s true. It is historical and supernatural. It is a living story.

And that part about going all in for God? How can you do this?

It means genuinely trusting in him and in the Christ story. And with deep trust, you open your heart once and for all.

You go to him and say, yes.

Yes, Lord, I want to be healed.

I give up my history to you.

It is part of my story, but it does not define me.

The Christ story is my story now.

Love is my story now.

Then, your past has no more power over your actions today.

It may still hurt, but not as much.

You can forgive. And you can be forgiven.

The old demons are crucified.

And you get your life back.

You can be solid and centered.

You can be healthy and free. 

In a way, God let go of his all power and control. He put the nastiness to death. And in the resurrection, he embraced life again.

How does this speak to you?

Joy. Optimism. Energy. Peace.

The place where you can find these things is by going all in… for God. It is a spacious place.

Going all in means giving it all… up to him. 

What happened to you?

Who abandoned you? Who hurt you?

What shame do you carry inside?

Answer these questions in the light of God’s mercy.

Let the cross of Christ and the resurrection help you answer. Confidently. Boldly.

Be free. Be healed. Be not afraid.

And embrace life everlasting.

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I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:9-11

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