A lot has been changing in my life: I’m a published author now, I settled back home in Michigan, and I started a Bible Study with some amazing women – Bold Beautiful Believers. God has truly been faithful. For the first time in my salvation I have submitted my whole life to Abba, but let me tell You… it wasn’t always like this.
FOR YEARS, I battled being lukewarm. For two months I’d be sold out for Christ, and then for the next three I’d be entertaining the world and all that comes with it. My downfall WAS love and relationships. I cried out to God in church on Sundays, but then I hid that part of my life from God – I wanted to have some say so when it came to the man I dated, and that exemplified my lack of trust in God.
Looking back, I ask myself why I was scared to give God ALL of me.
The month of December has been a blessing thus far. I started a Proverbs challenge with my friends (31 Proverbs for the 31 days in December) and it opened my eyes to the danger of being in between with God and the world. What I mean is this:
In Proverbs there is always a comparison to the righteous and the wicked, the wise and the foolish, LIFE & DEATH. In Proverbs, there is never an acknowledgment of the in between; the people that are neither here nor there. Just as there isn’t an in between in Proverbs, there isn’t one in the Kingdom. In fact Jesus says, 15 Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever. (1John 2:15-17 HCSB)
It’s like this:
An apple tree produces apples; it can’t produce oranges and apples. Just as an orange tree can only produce oranges. We can’t produce both good fruit and bad fruit. We are either deemed a good tree producing good fruit, or a bad tree producing bad fruit. In Matthew 12:33 it doesn’t state what the tree that’s halfway submitted to God and halfway submitted to the world will produce. Think about seeing a tree producing two different kinds of fruit. You might initially think it’s different, it’s cool temporarily, but in the end You’re going to be confused by what the tree is making.
The same thing goes for us as believers. When we aren’t fully submitted to God and still enjoying the things of this world, we are basically living a double life. James 1:8 (KJV) says, A double minded man is unstable in ALL his ways. So while we won’t submit our whole lives to God, thinking that our plan is better, we really are setting ourselves up for confusion.
I remember being so indecisive when it came to guys, and I’d fall for the “okey doke” over and over again because I wasn’t fully submitted to God and I was entertaining the world. When I think about it, most of the guys I chose to give my time mimicked my current state – claiming God, but still wrapped up in this world. I attracted what I produced: CONFUSION! It wasn’t until my last break-up that I actually submitted FULLY to God, and that was at the end of this past summer. God gave me clarity because I obeyed Him and honored Him. I realized how wrong I’d get that whole love and relationship thing if I didn’t give that to God too.
So to answer the question I posed further up in this post; I was initially scared to give God my ALL.
My mind was so caught up into the world’s way of thinking that I didn’t understand where to place my fear. I was scared because I didn’t know what God had in store for me. Sure I read Jeremiah, and I knew that salvation was the way to go, but I still questioned if God was going to get it right – how I liked it.
It’s so funny to type that today; God get’s EVERYTHING right! We just have to have the faith to let Him do it HIS way.
Are You lukewarm? Do You have one foot in and one foot out because of Your uncertainties in God’s plan? I was there before; I was fearful too.
Your calling and purpose may not be mine. Yes we all can attain salvation through Jesus Christ, but our journey thereafter can be different than our neighbors. Our marriage testimony won’t be the same; our Kingdom work may not be the same. That alone can be scary. So instead of trusting the unknown You take matters into your own hands and take on a world mindset as opposed to relying on God’s guidance, because it’s comfortable. Whether that be a career, Your love life (like me) etc. Hey, I get it; not knowing can bring about fear. But is our faith in the right place? And are we fearing what a life not submitted to God can bring about?
Make no mistake about it; the Bible is very specific to all of us about the dangers of being in between. We become:
- Unstable
- Against God
- Lovers of the world
- Ultimately if You’re not giving it all to God You risk hearing, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers” (Matthew 7:23 NIV)
Maybe if we knew what we risk while being lukewarm it would help override our fear and increase our faith. Are You fearing God’s plan so much that You become against God? When I looked at it like that I was shocked – the enemy has bamboozled us. We put our faith in the comforts of this world that lead to death, instead of the perfect plan that God has for each of us: eternal life.
The Bible says, in Proverbs, that those that are wise learn from the mistakes of others. Bro, Sis; You reading this… I wish I had learned this thing about being lukewarm a long time ago; it would’ve saved me a lot of bumps, bruises, and heartaches along the way. But glory to God for loving me out of my mess and saving me time and time again. He can do it for You too!
If this is You, neither here nor there, I want to encourage You to learn from my mistakes. I want to urge You to submit Your WHOLE life to God and watch how His plan supersedes Your lil’ plan for Yourself. God can and He will – LET GO, and LET HIM!
Love and God bless You,
Chenise
ALSO: My first novel, Searching For Forever is out and You can purchase it through the Kindle app: here
Chenise A Miller 