It has been nearly a month since I have blogged. Honestly, I have been struggling with spiritual dryness that has left me with little to share. I have been searching for a way to recover the passion and perspective I had at the start of the year when I made the bold commitment to be ‘all in’ for Christ.
Last Sunday I found it.
The words of a beautiful and simple song have provided my emancipation from a season of doubt. You likely know the refrain very well, “You can have all this world, give me Jesus.” It was while singing those words that I realized that I had been living the opposite, something like, “I’ll get back to you, Jesus, but right now I’m all wrapped up in all the stuff of the world.” It was only when I turned everything back right-side up that my joy returned.
Our problems somehow fade in significance when we pray, “Give me Jesus.” Of course, it is a version of Matthew 6:33, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these things will be added unto you.” But somehow it just resonates so well in my spirit to sing those words, “Give me Jesus.”
Be careful, this is not an escapist prayer. To say, “you can have all this world” is a cry of surrender that results in freedom. It not abandoning the world but abandoning our self, losing our self and our pursuit of worldly things. It is the devaluing of everything that our culture holds as sacred.
In the end it is reversing the lie of the enemy. The father of lies tells us that the good life is all about what we possess and we respond with ‘you can have it, give me Jesus.’ He fills our heads with fears and doubts about our future and our security and we respond, ‘you can have it, give me Jesus.’ He twists the truth about our identity and offers us fame and power if we will yield to the values of this world, and we reply, ‘you can have it, give me Jesus.’ He wants us fearful, anxious and discontented so he can work in us a spirit of bitterness, hopelessness, pride and discouragement, and we reply ‘you can have it all, just give me Jesus.’
Give me Jesus, everyday, every minute with every waking breath. When everything looks lost, give me Jesus. When I don’t know where to turn, give me Jesus. When I am at the end of my rope, give me Jesus. When I reach out for answers from anyone else, look for a solution in any other place, put my trust in any other person and seek my future according to any other values, give me Jesus, give me Jesus, give me Jesus.
The truth is, if we have Jesus, we have everything we need. What is your greatest need today, right now? What is your deepest pain, greatest fear, darkest doubt? Lift your eyes up and gaze on the One who loves you with an everlasting love. Place your hand in His, follow where He leads and proclaim with all your heart, “you can have all this world, give me Jesus.”