“If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness…. Offer to God thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High.” Psalm 50:12,14
Our Gifts to God
Part 2
I remember singing the old song, I Surrender All.*
All to Jesus I surrender; all to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.
All to Jesus I surrender; humbly at His feet I bow;
Worldly pleasures all forsaken; take me, Jesus, take me now.
All to Jesus I surrender; make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit, truly know that Thou art mine.
All to Jesus I surrender; Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power; let Thy blessing fall on me.
All to Jesus I surrender, now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His Name!
I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
It’s a great thought, isn’t it? Give it all to Jesus. Give Him your heart, your life, your service, your offering, and your comforts.
We know it is good and right to give it all to Jesus. We really want to be able to do it. In some ways, we probably have given certain things to Him, and we’re working on letting go of relinquishing the rest of it. We work at letting go of what seems to be ours, giving back to Him what He has given us, and acknowledging what was never ours to begin with—things we are only stewarding, things that are on loan to us. Our mind says, “Yes, those things are rightfully God’s, and I give them back to Him.”
Here’s the hard part, the part I’m not sure we ever quite finalize in our heart: We surrender all…but do we willingly accept the poverty of no longer having what we have given? The thing we give, we will no longer have. Ever.
If we give God our cherished hopes and expectations, do we live in that dead-to-self way that waits expectantly to see what abundant life God will give, instead of what we thought we wanted?
If we give God our time and plans, are we willing to live without pursuing our own wants and comforts and loves?
If we give God all our focus and attention, are we willing to live without the things that take up so much time—the entertainments of our lives?
Of course, God does not require this, though we may still give it voluntarily. Yesterday, we looked at the things the Scripture DOES tell us to give to Him: thanks, praise, honor, listening ears, difficulties, tithes, offerings, sacrificed bodies, cares, service to others, and things that cost us something.
And do you want to know something? These things have an unlimited supply, because the Spirit renews us daily. We are not depleted in what God asks us to give. Our ability to give is just as much today as it will be tomorrow.
Give Him praise and glory, honor and thanksgiving! We’ll never run out of these things.
Lord, You are worthy, and that is all the reason we need to give unto You. Amen.
I remember that sweet song.
I am missing the sweet fellowship of all the Believers at LCC and especially those I came to know personally in the Women’s Ministry, and I am forever grateful that I can still be ‘connected’ through the beautiful and heartfelt devotionals from those I love. This one, Part 1 and 2, have been so profound in the timing (and, of course, we all know that God’s timing is perfect)! Thank you for sharing, caring, praying, serving, giving and loving through Christ, the ‘gifts’ we have been blessed with. God Bless You All.