- God, if you love me and care about me then why don’t I have the job I’ve worked so hard for?
- Why is my relationship not working, I have put so much effort into it?
- Why do I still not have joy, I pray for it every single day?
- God, I have worked so hard and I have looked everywhere, but I just can’t seem to find purpose in this life!
- God, why do I feel like you are blessing everyone around me, yet here I am still waiting for my big breakthrough?
- I thought that when my sins were wiped clean that meant my obstacles would be gone too?
- God, why aren’t you helping me in my _______ situation?
Can anyone relate to some of these questions? So often I find myself in conversations with my fellow Christians who are struggling with seeing God work in their lives. They feel forgotten, they feel hopeless, they feel like their life isn’t worth it enough for God to pay attention and even do something. This leads to an unhealthy idea of who God is, and I think this is an easy place for Christians to fall into and start allowing these lies to overwhelm their minds.
I love the song “Nothing Else,” by Cody Carnes because I think it speaks into these common emotions. I know there are times for myself that I am begging God for something, pleading with Him to change my situation or to fix my issues, but what the song is talking about is instead of coming to God for blessings, we should just be coming to Jesus for who He is. The lyrics go:
“I'm not here for blessings
Jesus, You don't owe me anything
More than anything that You can do
I just want You”
Remember what it was like when you gave your life to Christ, He was all you wanted, and you knew He was all you needed? Somewhere along the way you started seeing Jesus as your personal multitool that would come in to screw your faucet a little tighter, you’d call Him up when things at work got exhausting, or you started seeing Him as your sugar daddy that would take you to the mall for your new fits. What if we simply prayed to Jesus and worshipped Him for who He was and not just for Him to bless us?
Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Our Lord loves us and He wants to give us what we need, but more than anything He wants us to rely on Him alone. He wants to be our source, He wants to give us joy and peace; but he knows that providing you with all you ask for isn’t going to give you what you actually need. Jesus knows where you can find all that you’re looking for; He knows where you can let go of hurt; He knows where you can release your stress; He knows where you can find purpose; and He doesn’t want you to look anywhere besides Him! He is your source! He is your refuge! He is your light! He is your reason for this life!
The hardest thing that I ever had to do as a Christian was surrender my will to God. No one wants to give up all they have worked for. No one wants to leave all they find their pride in. But I believe that there are two moments in the Christain walk: there is a time when man/woman receives the gift of salvation, and there is a time when they surrender their entire life to Christ. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” What this means is that instead of seeking money or your career seek God, and He will add those things to you. Instead of seeking that relationship seek God, and He will add that to your life. Instead of seeking fulfillment seek God, and He will fill you with all you need. Instead of seeking joy, peace, and happiness seek God, and He will overflow your life with joy even in your trials. We serve a God that loves us more than we can even imagine, and He wants to give us more than we can ever need or want; but the only way He can do that is if we let go of our desires and put Him first in our life.
If you can relate at all to what is written here I want you to do something… I want you to take a minute and close your eyes. (After you read this…. haha.) I want you to envision yourself talking to God, face to face, and I want you to think about all the things in this life that you desire. I want you to lay them down at His feet. Take a moment and say what they are…. Picture those things at His feet and I want you to tell Him that you don’t need any of it as much as you need Him. For some of us, like me, this might hit a soft spot. In this moment I’d encourage you to confess anything that you have desired more than God, and ask Him to remove the unhealthy desires in your life and fill them with Himself.
God knows the amount of hair on your head, He knows every feeling in your heart, He knows you, and He cares about your situation. He wants you to choose to look at Him instead of whatever is blocking your vision or distracting you. Are you willing to tell Him that you want nothing else?
Written by Jordan Arce,
Well Youth Lead at Wellspring Church
