With All Your Heart

Dearest readers, I hope you had a great Easter. Josh and I had a beautiful but tiring Easter holiday. We evangelised and shared the gospel, went to the Good Friday church service, and then spent time together with my family on Sunday. God has been good to us and kind to us.

With that said, the Lord Jesus impressed something to my heart that I want to share with you. I want to express that this message was purely for me. As I go through life, God teaches me lessons along the way, and He takes me through the journey first before I share it with other people. Oh, how wonderful and gracious he is. Every lesson and everything He tells us is to teach us, help us, and lead us. There is something God wants to do in our lives and hearts, but we have got to trust Him and follow Him well. I felt he shared the following with me:

“Believe in Me like there is no one else and like no one else can make it happen.” Or another way: “Sarah walk with Me in a way where your heart is only dependent on and trusting in Me, as if only I can make that thing happen.”

Now many people reading this will say: “Sarah, I do trust in God?” My question is: how often do I truly place my trust in Him or pray about it? And if you do pray about it often—what is your heart posture? What are you feeling and why when you pray? Is it hope and faith, or fear and unbelief that it might not happen?

Are you following His leadership for your life? Are you taking your heart to Him, and your disappointment and belief to Him? Or are you bitter, annoyed, and emotionally distant as you pray?

Another side of the coin is praying and asking God, but then doing our own thing, or not believing Him because He has not made it happen—or it has not happened yet. So we make our own contacts, make our own way, and try to say that God is involved, but really He isn’t. It is in these moments we wonder why we do not see the power of God in our lives. But Christians are supposed to walk and live in deep fellowship with God, his glory and power of God on a regular basis. Of course, that could look different in many ways—whether that's parenting children or writing an essay for an exam—we need to rely on and entrust our hopes, desires, and wants to God. As I mentioned, this message is for me—God gave this to me to heed to. I don’t know about you, but I desire the power and the Word of God to work in my life.

I do not want to live a normal, mediocre life, but a life that gives glory, worship and praise to God.

My desire is for people to look at my life and give glory to God, as written in the book of Matthew 5:14–16, where Jesus tells us that our lives mean more than what we think. We are light, and that light is supposed to lead people to God, not to ourselves:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

This deeply inspired me and encouraged me to fully trust God. What do you need to trust God for? Is it your children, your wellbeing, your healing, your business, your calling, or your purpose? Whatever it is, walk with God in it. Follow His instructions and His heart. Follow His voice concerning what He says about the situation—He might have specific instructions for you, or He might just say wait or go. Whatever it is, God loves you and knows what you need.

You are a light; you were born from light which is Jesus. Furthermore, the Bible says in 1 John 1:5 that “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” If you are born of God, it means you are born of light, and God dwells in you. Therefore, you can only give out what you are made of and what you are. Walking in trust and seeing the miraculous happen in your life is part of the Christian experience that becomes a witness to the world and to the church, and as a result, they give God praise.

This means that the Lord appreciates and loves our faith and trust. It is like when we want those in our lives to trust us and give us the benefit of the doubt—we want them to know that we would have their back no matter what. The truth is God loves you, and he is also asking you to have his back through your trust and faith in him; and He desires to bring goodness into your life. Not everything goes the way we want, and there are horrific things that happen that God does not cause. Jesus said that in the world we will have challenges. He said this because we live in a fallen world that is full of sin and evil, but He is at work in us and through us to overcome evil.

God is still God whether He gives us what we want or not. He is Lord, and He would not ask us to have faith if He did not desire to do wonderful things in our lives and hearts. It is easy to trust in what we see, or in government or people, but I am challenged to look to God for protection, provision, help, love, His glory, His anointing on my life, and His presence in my relationships and when I teach. I do not want to live without Him because, although there are many options, God’s choices and his ways for my life are better. Proverbs 4:18-19 explains it this way:

Proverbs 4:18-19 explains it this way: “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.”

Is that beautiful? The path that God has for us getting better and better in knowing him but without Christ in our lives we stumble on all in the dark. He is God, and our life is to live for Him and with Him. So before we make that decision about who to marry, what school to attend, which friends to make, or which church to attend, ask God about it. Pray for a while, seek His will, and trust Him to lead and guide you, follow the fruit of the spirit, ask wise counsel that you know God trusts.

Proverbs 3:5–7 echoes beautifully:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.”

We sometimes think that good things are God’s direction and leading, and that isn’t always true. Therefore this is a perfect time to practice trusting God, because there will come a time when we need to trust Him in a crisis or bigger circumstances. It will be too difficult to believe and trust Him for the big things if we have not trusted Him in the little things first. The world wants us to believe that we do not need to trust God—after all, it offers medicine, solutions, employment, and even temporary happiness. There is nothing wrong with these things, but we have got to ask ourselves if ultimately our hope and trust is in Jesus or the alternatives of the world.

Please do not misunderstand me—I am not saying we become lazy people who do nothing. I believe in good health, I praise God for doctors and education but I am reminded to remember the one who gave them that knowledge or ability. I am reminded that I need to trust God with medicine e.t.c because it is not fail proof. For example, if you need a job, you need to apply for it using your CV and cover letter. You need to make an effort when applying, but then give it to God to grant you favour instead of striving or taking any job that would not be best for you. We do not belong to the world but to God, and whilst other people have many options, Jesus helps us decide the right path for us because he has a path for us as his children. Paul says in Ephesians 2:10:

“For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].”

Because He is eternal, He knows what will happen in one year’s time—He knows the pitfalls and successes and will guide us according to his plans in Christ. I tell you what I do not what any other plan to follow other than that plan for my life - do you?

God is all-knowing and all-loving, so ask yourself: what is holding you back from believing and trusting God? Is it fear, doubt, self-doubt, worry, etc.? Take all of it to God in prayer and His Word. Decide to put the Word of God in your heart and mouth and ask the Lord to help you and strengthen you as you pursue the things He wants you to do in your life.

Love you Sarah