Withhold Nothing

 

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it

—Matthew 16:25 

 

This verse makes no sense to our natural minds. Most people think that no one will look out for them if they don’t. Hence, they assess everything from a selfish perspective. Selfishness is prideful and breeds contention (Proverbs 13:10). God loves us more than we love ourselves. His plans for us are better than our plans for ourselves (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). Abandoning ourselves to Him is the best thing we can do. It rarely looks that way to our carnal minds because our carnal thinking is the enemy of God (Romans 8:7). There is unquestionably suffering in following Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). However, the suffering we endure for His sake cannot be compared with His glory to be revealed in us (Romans 8:17-18). One day, when we go to be with the Lord, we won’t see through a glass darkly anymore. We will have a complete revelation of what God was doing all along in this world.

 

The most crucial thing in this world is for Him to be the Lord in your life. This Christmas, what have you made the most necessary thing? Who or what is your Lord? Is there something you hold on to, afraid you will lose, or perhaps a relationship you believe is paramount? If you try to hang on to your life, Jesus said, you will lose it. If a relationship or what you possess is more important than your relationship with God, you will lose intimacy with Him. Your understanding of who you are in Christ will fade away. You will lose your life to what you desire instead of losing your life to become the new person He created.

 

“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be,” Jesus said (Matthew 6:21).

 

Is the thing you treasure a person? Your concerns and desires about that relationship are foremost in your mind. If it is something you crave, then the yearning for ownership outweighs anything else. Whatever your treasure is becomes the desire of your heart. If you selfishly hang on to what you require instead of seeking what the Lord desires, you will lose the revelation adventure of your new life in Jesus Christ. But if your treasure is your relationship with Him, then your heart's genuine desire is what the Holy Spirit reveals in you.

 

Giving up your life for Jesus is all about priorities. Jesus put you first when He died on the Cross for the forgiveness of your sins—your healing—your provision—your total restoration. You were then and still are His number-one priority. Is He yours, or do other relationships, desires, or things get in the way? If you hang on to them, you lose. If you give them up, you win. Losing your desires is letting go of the old nature that once defined you. Allowing the Holy Spirit to direct your life is allowing the new nature you have received to mold you in God’s image. Withholding nothing from the Lord will save you from the ultimate bitterness of a self-focused life and give you unmatched intimacy with Him.

 

Peace and joy are tangible when you truly understand how much Jesus treasures you. Your desire to love Him springs from knowing the love He gave you. Give Him your time to learn who He says you are. Give Him the selfish longings that compete with His desires. Give Him your relationships. Give Him every struggle. Give Him all the emotional upheavals. He destroyed them all at Calvary. You are the one holding on to their lies. Give Him all of you so you learn all He is. When you “know” who He is in you, then you find your new life in Him. He becomes your Lord. You can never make Him Lord by what you do. You make Him Lord when who you believe you are agrees with who He says you are. Then, you live out of the truth of your new life in Him.

 

God desires to reveal Himself in you. You are the desire of His heart, my friend. He yearns to be the desire of yours. Jesus is your gift of salvation. Open your gift. Open all of Him and find the new person He has created in you. Know the power of His resurrection. He withheld nothing from you. Withhold nothing from Him. 

 

“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).

 

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