As I was listening to a song by Forever Jones, “He Wants It All”, I was reminded of a conversation I had with someone. I was asked to do something and I avoided the assignment siting many reasons for my resistance. In the end, I indicated I would think about it and how to go about doing what was asked of me.
Then, today, as I listened to this song, the word that continued to stand out was “ALL”. Though I have heard this song many times, as it is one of my favorites, never before has the impact of the word “all” nearly floored me.
All is such a small word with such a powerful meaning. Dictionary.com defines this word as “the whole of.” I was immediately reminded of the scripture in Mark 12:30 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” All encompasses everything, which means that I cannot serve God partially and expect Him to be pleased with me.
Back to my conversation I spoke of earlier. When I explained to this person that I couldn’t keep giving up things to pick up other things, he jokingly said, “God wants it all,” and we both laughed and moved on. Who would have guessed how impactful his words were? (Many a truths are said in jest) Anyway, today, I hear God’s voice “crying out in the silence” searching my heart, to see if I will in fact give Him my all.
What does this really mean? It means I must give Him my time, energy, concerns, and my dreams. It means my life truly belongs to Him. We, as humans, fear giving up everything to anyone. This makes us vulnerable to rejection, hurt, ridicule, and even poverty. However, God wants and expects us to give Him our All. As a control freak, this is especially hard for me. I like to know and plan for what is to happen tomorrow. I like to be the one to make the decision on the course of action to take. However, this belittles God. If I can do it on my own, why do I need Him?
The scripture in Mark leaves no room for anything else. If I love God with all, the whole of, my heart, there is no room for the love of the world which results in pleasing the flesh. If I love the Lord with all, the whole of, my soul, there is no room left for the ways of the wicked. If I love God with my all, the whole of, my mind, there is no room for negativity, sinful thoughts, and the lusts of my eyes. If I love God with all, the whole of, my strength, there is no room for doubt, unbelief, and defeat. Simply put, if I love God with my all, the whole of, my being, I please Him, and in pleasing Him, I am not left to ponder what will be, but I am able to walk in the blessings stored for me.
I hear God “walking over the earth searching for a desperate heart” and my desperate heart is beating in concert with His. I know His desire is for my all, and now, my desire is to give Him my all, the whole of me. He promised that if my ways are pleasing to Him, He will give me the desires of my heart, so there is nothing to fear, as I walk in my total and absolute submission and surrender to a loving Father who gave His all when He gave His son, Jesus.
The vamp of the song, is “All of you, More of you, He wants it all today.” God wants it all, the whole of, me.
~Giving My All~
~The Whole of Me~
