Totally Worth It

I was talking with a friend the other day who's going through one of the hardest times of her life and she asked me if Jesus is worth it. Is He worth hanging in there when you just want to give up? Is He worth following when everything keeps going wrong and every day just hurts? Will this pursuit of Him be worth it in the end or will life just be one heartbreak after another? And for the first time in my life I could answer her honestly that the Jesus I have finally found is more than worth it. That when it comes down to it I would rather lose everything and everyone in my life than to lose Him because He satisfies me like nobody and nothing else ever has.

Once that came out of my mouth I wanted to run screaming up and down the street. It's been such a long haul to get here, and there were a couple of dark times when I considered giving up on God because life was too hard and He didn't seem to be helping. Thankfully He is faithful and hangs on to me when I feel my grip slipping. So to be in this place where Jesus is the one great joy of my life has been the the most wonderful relief. It's like a little glimpse of Heaven, which I imagine must be a HUGH sigh of relief for all who finally get there. I seriously doubted that I would ever get to this place. Because I've read in the Bible that I'm supposed to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, but I've seen so few people actually do it that I didn't think it was possible. So to be here, on this end of things, loving Him with more of me than I thought was possible, is living an actual miracle and I give Him all the praise for that. And I pray each day that He holds me close and doesn't let me wander, because I never want to go back to loving the world and what it offers more than Him. There's too much pain and disappointment there.

I finally understand what Paul was talking about when he said "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Phil 4:12). The secret is Jesus...all by Himself. It's knowing and loving Him. It's following Him and letting Him have complete control of me so that I rest each day in His very loving, very compassionate, very generous hands. What's been really amazing, and I pray this for all of you, is how simple and joyful things get when I love Him the most and trust Him to call the shots...even if it means I don't get something I always thought I wanted. Suddenly I don't envy anyone anything. I don't care who seems to have everything or at least those things I always thought were deal breakers. I don't care if people are more beautiful or successful than me and I don't care if my friends end up with the best husbands and kids in the world and all I have are a couple of cats. Because that has all fallen into place and Jesus makes all of it look small and unnecessary. The only thing I absolutely MUST have is Him, and I'll take as much of Him as I can get.

If you're just barely hanging in there, and I know some of you are because I read every post that hits the prayer board, don't ever give up. I can promise you beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is worth your whole life and then some. Here are a couple promises you can repeat to yourself when you're having a hard time believing you'll ever really find Him:

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' - Acts 17:26-28

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. - Jeremiah 29:13-14