Of All Else

So there's this song that we've sung a lot this weekend at DNOW. It's called "Forever Reign" and I so appreciate it. It resonates within me, hardcore. Typically, I tend to gravitate toward the idea of only Christ being good and the acknowledgement that there truly is nothing good in me. However, this weekend, the phrase "of all else I'm letting go" struck me in a way I apparently needed striking.

Inevitably when God has something big planned, the enemy attempts to distract and devour. Thankfully, God is so much bigger than anything anyone could ever imagine or scheme. (Whew!) However, this weekend was no exception. God's been preparing our students for a long time for this weekend, and I know He's been moving. (He's always so faithful like that.) With some unexpected and hard-to-swallow family news I received Friday morning, my heart and my brain entered a teeter-totter state of overwhelmed vs. trusting. This is where the song really hit. I know that as long as I'm holding on to something-or anything, for that matter-that Jesus doesn't have all of me. As I silently voiced my prayers of surrender in regards to my family situation, the Lord immediately brought to the forefronts of my heart countless other things-big, small, old, new, neat, messy-that I needed to give up too. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes.

"Of all else I'm letting go."

See, I can't say those words and mean them, yet still hold on to anything. That's just not how it works. My desire is to live in a constant state of surrender, in which I continually and completely relinquish control as the need arises. (I know, I dream big. It's okay though; my God can handle it.) I don't want to live a half-hearted faith that only trusts God when it's convenient or easy or crystal-clear. I don't want to trust in the things that I think I'm supposed to trust in and then figure out the rest on my own; no, I want to trust in everything. I want to let it all go. Give it all up. Get rid of it.... ALL.

So I did. And I have some more. And I know I will again. Because it's a constant process for me. I'm so grateful that He's patient enough to walk alongside and lead me. I definitely can't do this on my own.

What about you--have you given up "all else"? What's still festering in your heart? What's holding you back?