Holding Back
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny
himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Going to Finger Lakes Race Track in Canandaigua, New York was a regular summer activity in my B.C. (before Christ) days. Like any good Italian mother, my mom had educated me in the finer points of reading the racing forms, evaluating past performances, checking track conditions, and knowing who the best jockeys were, some of the essentials to successfully “betting on the ponies” as she referred to it. But there was one other important principle, the subject of today’s devotion, which may have worked in the betting arena but can be a serious hindrance in the Christian life.
Finger Lakes Race Track offered nine races every day with the later races featuring the best horses. And no matter how good a horse looked in the early races, no matter how sure of a bet it seemed to be, you always, always, always held something back just in case it didn’t work out as anticipated. Holding something back was a safeguard against the unexpected, a protection against losing everything, and a way to maintain a semblance of control over the funds that you started with. And it mattered because horse racing contained a few rarely talked about x-factors, like race fixing, and holding back a good horse, to name a few.
Herein is the problem: we do the same thing in our relationship with God, we hold back from Him, from totally trusting God just in case He does something we don’t really want Him to, or that doesn’t mesh with our plans for our lives. We surrender but don’t surrender all. We trust Him but our trust is not unconditional. We worship Him but it is not all out, unreserved and undignified as David did. And the reason is that we want to maintain control over our lives. Rather than God having the final say, we want the last word in our lives just as we do in our conversations. And who is the real loser in all this; it is unfortunately you and I.
Francis Chan wrote “God want to see His children stake everything on His power and presence in their lives.” God is looking for a people who will unconditionally surrender to Him, a people who will sing “I surrender all” and truly mean it. God is longing for men and women who will trust Him with all their heart, who will trust His plan for their lives and yield to it, holding nothing back. It is to that man or woman that the unsearchable riches of Christ become a reality. It is in those lives that Christ can truly rule and reign. And if that is you, if you can become that “hold nothing back believer”, God will direct your every step and surround you with His favor and blessing.
God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church
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