Post by: Samantha Ho
After turning the page from “Getting Everything You Want,” you’ve arrived here, on the other side. This is simply another way of looking at it.
What if God, at this moment, allowed you to have that thing (or all the things) that you need? Would you be grateful, even if it meant giving up what you want? Would you be content with only Christ?
Let’s say you’re in a good place with the Lord. You’re walking faithfully with Him in obedience, cultivating a heart full of thankfulness of the grace He offered to you. You’ve built your life to exemplify what it means to be a disciple of Christ, to give up everything, pick up your cross, and follow Him.
Let’s say God gave you more…some tangible things too. But if He doesn’t give you any of what you want, how will you respond?
If the house you’re living in is less than ideal—maybe cabinets are broken, your kid’s toys are everywhere, neighbors are loud, the people you’re living with are inconsiderate, or maybe there’s no people at all—would you be content? Would you be content with a home to return to and a bed to rest on? Would you be content with where God placed you?
If your job offers you so much, but just slightly below enough—below average pay, unending stressful projects, bothersome coworkers, a parking spot with no shade—would you be thankful? Would you thank God that you’re capable of earning money, allowed interactions with different types of people, and given the ability to do meaningful work?
If a “less-than-ideal” guy or girl enters your life—one that doesn’t possess all the qualities you’re looking for in their personality, character, looks, or temperament—but loves the Lord with all their heart? Will you be satisfied with their priorities and passions?
Or what if your newest church remodel or building makes getting around inefficient, or there are too many stairs, or maybe the paint is just ugly? Would you find joy in seeing people care for one another, having a place to gather, watching your community serve and grow together? Would you be joyful even without a building?
What if God gives you Himself? Is He enough? Is it enough that our perfect God sacrificed His only Son for you?
Sadly, sometimes it feels like He’s not enough. Sometimes it feels like He’s everything but enough. Almost there. Just one more thing—I just want one more thing according to my own preference, and then I will be content. And then I will rejoice. But we know this is not true. We know that having everything but Christ will lead to emptiness. It will lead to heartbreaking decisions of sacrifice. You will either let go of God, or you will let go of yourself. Only one of those options is truly heartbreaking, for the other leads to a life of fulfillment and joy. A life full of Christ, and emptied of ourself, is where we’ll feel satisfied. Everything else is absolutely worthless compared to having God, Himself.
You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. You found his heart faithful before you...
Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. - Nehemiah 9:6-8, 29-31
Sam is a lover of Jesus, working as a strategic planner by day, and a graphic designer by night. Running off of chocolate, Sam loves to spend her time savoring the intricacies of life with others, immersing herself in words, art, and plenty of good food. She has witnessed the strengths and weaknesses of the Asian American church, and has a heart to help build up this generation to be strong in faith and equipped with Truth and Grace. Her ultimate aim is to encourage others to love and cherish Christ even more.