365 Days with God - Day 127: What's Most Important?

I'm giving myself a challenge. Read the Bible each day for a whole year, following the ESV Study Guide 1-year plan. Each day, I will post whatever God has revealed to me in His Word, and how it is changing me. A friend of mine once said that nothing has changed her life as much as reading the bible each day - and I'm excited for how this will change me. Join me on an adventure into the heart of God - and day by day, we can learn more about who He is and what that means to us!

- Andy Catts

Day 127, April 26, 2014

Readings: Psalm 126 Numbers 7, Isaiah 43:1-28, Isaiah 44:1-5, Philippians 3:1-21, Philippians 4:1

We wrestle with things we've never wrestled with before. Sitting in the family van, silence pervades as children nap and we are lost in thought. It is so easy to put things in front of God. So easy to justify this or that instead of Jesus.

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)

There is nothing that is more important than God. No family, job, friends, lifestyle, bank account or thing is more important. Nothing takes precedence over God. We must be willing to put them all aside for Jesus.

Notice, this does not explicitly say to give everything up. Paul says, "whatever gain I had, I counted as loss." Everything was up for grabs in his quest to know God, to serve Jesus. Everything we have is God's. Anything He asks of us we should be willing to give up.

But wait! What about !? Does he really mean ? Surely it can't be ?

Yep. And that's the trust part of knowing and loving God. We can give up everything to Him because we can trust Him. We can know that we don't have to be in control, don't have to manage everything. He asks us to be willing to admit that the omnipotent, omniscient, all-powerful God of the universe might be better suited to run our lives than we are.

Are you willing to let Him?