15 Jun The Magnificent Obsession – Chapter Three
The Magnificent Obsession – Chapter Three
Entrust Everything Completely
“Could it be that you have made the choice to leave everything behind, then followed with the commitment to let everything go in order to pursue God as Abraham did? And now you’re wondering, “What in the world have I done? What is this going to mean in practical terms?”
The Magnificent Obsession, p. 86
Faith is not a feeling, but it does require action… the action of belief. The words are actually from the same Greek root word, pisteuo and the root word, pistis. If you remember from your Scripture reading in the Introduction Lesson, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness…” (Romans 4:3, emphasis mine). Abraham put his faith in to action when he put his faith in to practice by standing on, and using, the promises of God. Abraham believed that God is who He says He is, and would do what He said He would do. Not only did this let God know that He could in fact trust Abraham with more, but it also blessed God’s heart so much that He referred to Abraham as His friend (James 2:23).
How about you? Do you believe God? Do you believe Him big? Do you trust Him? Can He trust you?
It’s our calling… or spiritual “job” you might say, to know and believe God (Isaiah 43:10). And I so want to do that job well… to be one that God looks at and says, “She’s My friend. She really trusts me, believes me…and it shows.”
I just read this morning in Streams in the Desert, “Great faith must first endure great trials.” So true. And I think that is precisely why so many of us are afraid to really let go and fully abandon ourselves to God. Let’s be honest. We’re afraid, right? Afraid… that if we really say, “Yes, Lord- You can have it all, and all of me, and do whatever you’d like, and take whatever you want, and I’m good with that…” that He will hurt us, or take something precious from us, or make us sick, or make us… suffer.
Well, maybe He will and maybe He won’t. But in the grand scheme of things, in His divine plan, whatever happens to us happens with His full and loving knowledge, with a greater glory to Him and a gift for us; the gift of knowing Him better and experiencing the fullness of the life He planned for us! But that can only happen when we surrender and entrust everything completely to Him: our self, our relationships, our spouse and kids, our work, our blessings, our fears, tears, disappointments and failures, our hopes and dreams… the things that keep us up at night, and the things that break our heart. The very things we cling tightly to in a feeble attempt to control and hold onto… that’s what we need to let go of and entrust all of it to the One who is most trustworthy.
Sister, you are not alone. We’ve all struggled with these things. But praise God, we have One who loves and cares for us and has gone before us in all things. He is the only One who can do anything about everything that concerns us. Entrust everything completely to Him, for He cares tremendously for you!
God bless you as you open His marvelous Word this week! Speak, Lord, for your servants are listening!
xo – P
THIS WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT:
- Scripture Reading: Genesis 15
- Read Chapter 3 – Magnificent Obsession
Questions for Small Group Discussion and Blog:
1. What are your biggest fears (the things that keep you up at night)? What are your biggest disappointments (the things you’ve cried over and over about)?
2. Fear begins in the battlefield of the mind. I love the acronym for fear: False Events Appearing Real. Much of what we are afraid of has been made so much bigger in our own minds simply because we’ve meditated on the dang things over and over again. What we are afraid of certainly may be our reality, but the Scripts teach us that God’s Word overrides our reality every single time! Read aloud 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. What is God’s instruction for defeating fearful thoughts that have become supersized in our mind?
3. Read Ephesians 6:13-18. Of all of the armor of God mentioned, what are the only weapons of offense He’s given us to fight with?
The living and active Word of God is filled with marvelous and powerful promises He’s given us to do battle with. What promises have you specifically claimed and prayed through that have helped get you through difficult times?
4. When did you enter into a personal, right relationship with God through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus? Describe your salvation or conversion experience. If you’ve never done this before, this might be a good time to put it into writing. You can use what I call the “Amazing Grace” template: I once was _________. But then Jesus _________. And now I’m ________.
For Personal Prayer & Reflection:
Entrusting Everything Completely~
In your notebook or journal, make a list of those things that you need to entrust completely to God. Spend some time in prayer talking about with the Lord about trusting Him with these things. Look at your previous lists (from Chapters 1 & 2) and compare. Are there things you want to add or delete from those lists? Has the Holy Spirit put anything else on your heart as you’ve prayed this through?
(*) The Complete Word Study Dictionary- New Testament (Zodhiates)