Holding on Loosely

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Kenya, Courtesy of @Kyesubire

Remember the comment earlier that as long as one of us has we all have?

Yes…

Do you agree with that?

It’s a new concept I’m still adjusting to it but yes I kinda agree.

So you buy a car and then he asked you to give it to Jessica, would you?

And why would I do that?

Because God said.

Did He write it one the wall?

No, He told you in your heart

Well, my head thinks it is madness so it’s unlikely I’d give it

Why?

How do I get around? What would people think of me? What do I do when it rains? I can’t even go for the networking meetings I go for…

Is that really what God is concerned about?

Me looking good? Of course

Could that car be a hindrance to you hearing His voice and following His instruction?

How and it is a gift that He gave me?

A gift can become a curse if it is not used properly or if it turns our eyes from Him. Another question for you…

Shoot…

What if He allows you to keep the car but asks you to use it for His missions in remote places?

Who is going to pay for the maintenance? If the mission team can cover those needs they can have it

Can you see what you are doing?

What?

You are holding on to the very things God has blessed you with and refusing to be a blessing

Not really…I’m being a good steward of the things He has given me

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Kenya, Courtesy of @Kyesubire

Matt 6:33…seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you…

What does that have to do with anything?

You are holding so tightly on the all these things and focusing on maintaining them when they were a gift in the first place.

So, what should I be doing?

Seeking first….

Which means?

Asking Him where you need to go, whose life needs His comfort, how you can be of assistance to others, then following the instructions to the letter and being all you can be in Him.

Explain!

Remember when God stopped Saul on the road to Damascus?

Sure

What did he, Paul do after the encounter with God?

He spent time in prayer and fasting

And….

God sent Ananias to touch him and teach him the faith

Then…

He became a travelling preacher

He was already a traveller…going from city to city looking for Christians and getting them locked up but he became an evangelist to the Gentiles and that is how we got to hear the gospel of Jesus. Imagine with me for a moment of Paul had chosen to build a tent business and become rich…would we know Christ today?

Of course, God would have raised someone else.

Precisely, God would have raised someone else and Paul would have been passed over and left to just live a life of little consequence

But you can serve God with wealth can’t you?

Absolutely but God has to be the one in the driving seat directing what goes where, when, how much, not you.

But it is mine….

Really?

Of course…He gave it to me.

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Kenya, Courtesy of @Kyesubire

Why does the word say that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, all the world and they that dwell in it, if what you have is yours

Uuurrrrgghhh…you’re making my life hard…too hard

You’re the one who asked the question and clearly you don’t like the answers

Surely there is an easier way?

God doesn’t do easier way…He does the best way

So the best way is to surrender it all and allow Him to direct how I use it?

Yup

That’s a hard one

Only if you are still holding onto things too tight

Oh my, now I have a headache…Why do you make things so hard?

I don’t, I just want to share what God has been teaching me

Which is?

The reality that when I hold on to things loosely I get further with Him and reach more people for Him?

Hold on loosely? Now that is a real paradox. How does it work?

Well, He is the giver of all things good and bad and if I just listen to His instruction and follow them to the letter there is less drama and frustration.

So if He wants us to hold on loosely why does He give us good things?

He is a loving father and He knows what His children need and what they will enjoy, so He gives these things to them. Think about your younger cousins or nieces and nephews…don’t you correct them and give them things because you love them and you want them to understand the process of getting this but also understand the pleasures of life?

Absolutely!

So what do you do?

I give good measures of both so they grow up balanced

So why do you want God to deal differently with you?

What do you mean?

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Kenya, Courtesy of @Kyesubire

Why do you want God to give you only the things you want and not have to take them to help others when that is exactly what you do for the little ones around you?

Oh my!

Yes, oh my! It took me a while to understand that He deals with me as HE created me so the things He gives to me or holds back from me are unique to me. Some of the things that trigger you have no effect on me so He won’t give those to me. Some of the things that you are holding on to He has already denied me or taken them away so He won’t use those on me anymore. Yet there are still things that I have to deal with because they are now the things that affect me and direct my focus and those are the ones He is giving, withholding or removing.

Do you ever get mad with Him when He takes them away?

Not anymore because I understand there is a lesson but I used to get so mad I would throw tantrums.

And then…

Nothing…God doesn’t respond to tantrums, nagging and sulking from me so I had to grow up

What does growing up look like?

TRUST

What do you mean?

Growing up means that I believe that nothing God puts in my path will harm me so I accept and ask Him how to deal with it and keep walking.

What if it is life threatening?

I haven’t been there yet but I am trusting God that in case one of those ones happens I will be able to honestly let go and walk with Him in faith that He knows and will do it all for my good and that alone.

Does it always come easy?

These days yes but not in the beginning.

What changed?

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Kenya, Courtesy of @Kyesubire

I discovered that I could indeed trust God to stand on His word and be true to His name. He is not a man that He should lie or the son of man that HE should change His mind

I wish I could get there

All in good time

What do I need to get there?

Faith, trust, obedience and commitment to Him only

Eish…this is too hard

Do you want to take a break and order lunch?

Definitely…why did God send you to give me a headache?

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What is it about this walk that bothers you or you don’t understand? Ask God to clarify the answer for you and it will amaze you

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