All of Your Heart

Stop trusting yourself. Because you can't do it all. 


This was a scary reality that I was faced with a few weeks ago.

Have you ever had one of those days where you think you can do it all? Where YOU are the one who's going to make a change? YOU alone hold the key to the future. Have YOU ever felt like YOU have the weight of the world on your shoulders?

Well... you don't. At least...you don't have to. Because someone else already bore the burden for you.  Someone way more powerful and stronger than you is in control. 

It took me quite a while to learn this... in fact, I didn't even come to this realization until a couple of weeks ago. I was reflecting on my life, the blessings and the trials, and all of the sudden I realized that I had done absolutely nothing to affect the happenings in my life.

Things happen... but they don't happen by chance...and they certainly don't happen because of my own efforts. They are clearly shaped and molded by someone ever so much greater than me.

It was then that I realized that I can't do it all. Not alone at least. I don't even know if I'm meant to do anything that will affect truly meaningful change. I don't know what will happen tomorrow, or the next day... but I do realize one thing: I need to let go. To let go of the things of this world, of my deathgrip on the plans that I have for me and just give into God and the plans that He has for me.

Jeremiah 29: 11 is a frequently quoted Bible verse... but why so many people stop at verse 11, I'll never know. Jeremiah 29: 11-13  says:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

These past few weeks taught me to let go of my own heart. Because in reality... my heart is not my own. In fact, as a member of the body of Christ, I have allowed Him to fill my heart; making it ever so much more His than it is mine.

I do not claim to have given every part of my life over to the Lord. The worries and toils of everyday life pull and tug at the desires of my heart; causing them to stretch in all directions.  But I can commit to trying. And you know what? I think I now know what it means to be free. The word freedom has been given such new meaning and I never knew it to bring such joy!

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17

I started out this blog post by saying to stop trusting yourself. And I meant it. But that doesn't mean that you stop trusting.  Opening up your heart and giving your whole heart to something or someone other than yourself, takes the greatest trust anyone could ever ask for. 

So, I'm saying it today. I'm going to try (that doesn't mean I won't fail) to give ALL OF MY HEART over to the Lord. It'll be quite the journey and I would encourage you to take it with me: who knows were it will lead... but hopefully it will "set [my] heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." ~ Colossians 3:1