Month: September 2019

On Sunday at church, as worship was taking place they began singing a popular song by this worship band called Bethel.  If you’re familiar with church or church music you’ve probably heard of Bethel.  Regardless, they sing a song titled, “Worthy of it all”. A portion of the lyrics to this powerful song are, “You are worthy of it all, you are worthy of it all it, for from you are all things and to you are all things, you deserve the glory”.

Since hearing this song for the first time, my church girl heart has always just guided me to an anthem of praise and magnifying the Lord.  For exalting him as worthy and holy.  For praising his sovereignty and majesty and his reign. All good and valid expressions to make about Father God our creator.  He so deserves every bit of our praise and gratitude.  However, it wasn’t until this past week, fully lost in his presence that the words rang differently to me. Maybe I’m just the last to pull up a chair to this table, but it was as if God was gently opening my heart to see that He doesn’t want us to just be in awe of His splendor and power, but he wants us to come to the place that we trust Him with our complete surrender; with it all. To come to a place we receive and release that He is worthy of ALL of us. Not just all the praise of our lips but worthy of everything. Worthy of all our heart.  All our trust. All our life.  So many times, we grant God access to certain parts of us and our lives, but He is beyond worthy to have it all. He is beyond worthy to be trusted with it all.  All our fears, all our struggles, all our plans.  Not just the ones we are comfortable surrendering into His control or the compartmentalized areas of our life.  The clean and whole pieces as well as the weak and broken parts. He is worthy of it all.  All our finances.  All our dreams. All our hopes and even all our doubts.  He is so worthy for us to release everything we cling so tightly to control. Commit everything to Lord.

“Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.”‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬
I love that it tells us to dwell in the land. Don’t just frequent it or visit at the good times or run desperately to it in the bad.  No, just dwell in the land, stay a while.

“We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Oh, how many times I justify my way and my motives and attempt to camouflage them as Godly directives when they are merely selfish desires laden with manmade initiative.

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;”‭‭Psalms‬ ‭24:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬
A friend reminded me of this verse.  It’s such a definitive reminder.  It all belongs to him regardless of how tightly I cling to anything. I am but a keeper on this journey. 

He is worthy and trustworthy of all of me, every single piece and part.  He is so worthy of all of you and every space in your life.

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.” Galatians 2:21

It’s not the rules of religion that buy our grace, but the sacrifice of death that ransoms our hearts.  Grace received with only one intent, relationship.  It is the redemptive mercies we undeservingly obtained through the cross that allow us to fill all the gaps in our life.  Our delinquencies all delivered through one act of unconditional love.  Any insufficiency turned to plenty in the hands of a savior. 

To recognize that His unmerited favor relies solely on the goodness of the giver and not on our merit as the receiver, offers so much hope.   In our own trying, our hands would never be clean enough or strong enough to grasp hold of its freedom.  And so, all we have to do is come to the throne of grace with hands wide open in surrender.  Letting go of all inadequacies for the fullness of His grace.  There we can replace our failures and fears with His goodness and mercy.  There we find His grace is truly sufficient.  For it is not by our own hands or works that we can begin to know the Father, but rather by the grace He gives us to walk in relationship with Him. 

“But he replied, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9