Jesus as All ~ by Bella

"Sometimes, we don't realize Jesus is all we need, until Jesus is all we have."  - Unknown 

Do you ever wonder why we care so much about things like... Am I as pretty as that girl?  Does that person like me?  Does this outfit look okay?  Will I ever be able to go do this someday?  When deep down in our hearts, we really want to just be fully in love with Jesus!! We want so much to go deeper with Him.  We know He should be our first love, but all this stuff that really doesn't matter, can mean so much to us.  

Even us girls who are following Jesus are tempted to think that the things of this world will fill the longings of our hearts.  They often can seem more real to us than the promises of God.  Why is that, even though we know Jesus is the answer to our longing hearts, we so easily try to fill that emptiness with other things?  I think for myself it has often been that I've had a hard time believing God's promises... I think especially as girls, we can base things on our feelings, rather than on Truth.  

There was a time in my life, where I was really thinking about all this... One moment, I would say, Jesus, “You are all I need”, but then the next moment, I couldn't imagine living without this or that.  Jesus has used difficult seasons in my life to show me that He is the answer to every longing in my heart.  It's been the times where I have felt like I couldn't take another step, that Jesus was my strength and carried me through...It was the times my heart was overwhelmed, that Jesus and only Him, was my peace...It was those times when I couldn't see what was going to happen, that Jesus was my hope.  It's truly been amazing, experiencing Jesus being my all through the every day, difficult things in life.  I think, one of the reasons God allows us to go through fires in life, is not only to refine us, but to show us how much we need Him. "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)  

Recently, I was struggling with this.  I wanted so badly to have Jesus be everything to me, but I couldn't seem to get the desires of my heart out of the way.  I realized in order for me to truly have Jesus be my everything, I needed to surrender everything to Him.  I love the quote that says, "Coming to the cross, means much more than believing Christ died for your sins, it means exchanging all that you are for all that HE IS."  Jesus brought me through a very stressful time in my life, but through that He showed me in such a deep way who HE IS... It wasn't until He brought me to the point of being completely broken before Him and left in awe of Who He is, that I truly experienced Him for Who He really is!!  He is worthy of all that we are!  It was through much searching to know my Jesus more that He truly showed Himself to me.  "If you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him."  (Jeremiah 29:13)  When we let Jesus completely take over every area of our life is when we truly experience Him for all that He really is!! He is EVERYTHING we ever wanted!  It was in seeing Who He really is and how deep His love is for me, that I couldn't help but only want Him and completely surrender all to Him!

I've realized, that unless I'm living completely surrendered to Jesus Christ, I can't experience Him as being my all... because my heart is too full of me and my own desires.  Surrender is key!  "He must increase, but I must decrease."  (John 3:30) 

Some truths that have really helped me in times when I want to hang on to things and am struggling with surrendering them to Jesus are... First, submitting all my fears to God!  (Psalm 118:6) and then really meditating on His truths. 

Some truths that have really helped me are:
#1 Jesus is worthy of all that you are! Rev. 5:12
#2 He CARES about you...your future, desires, etc. He cares about every detail of your life, even more than you do!  1 Peter 5:7
#3 He will not withhold anything good from those who walk uprightly!  Psalm 84:11
#4 He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think!  Eph. 3:20
#5 He knows all! Your desires, fears, hopes, dreams, passions, weaknesses, needs...everything! Isaiah 40:27-28
#6 He is faithful to do His best in your life!!!  

"He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”  1 Thessalonians 5:24 

I just encourage you to embrace the hard moments in your life as a chance to experience Jesus as truly your everything!!!  He wants so much to make Himself real to you, but, so often we can miss it.  We just want the pain to go away.  I have learned to say, truly from my heart, “Thank Jesus” for that pain and ask Him to help me to experience more of Him through it.  Jesus loves and cares for you so deeply.  He wants to fill that longing in your heart with more joy and more peace and more hope than you ever even thought possible!!!

This life is so, so short...Only Jesus and what's done for Him will last!!! "This world will pass away and the things in it, but they that do the will of God, will abide forever."  1 John 2:17 

Only Jesus satisfies in the end!