Giving Your All to God

A few weeks ago, I was humming to William McDowell’s “Withholding Nothing Medley”, and I found myself meditating on these lines;

I surrender all to you
Everything I give to you
Withholding nothing
Withholding nothing

A question popped up in my mind, “Do I mean these words?”. We often make statements in prayer and worship that reflect our genuine desire to fellowship with God. However, do we sincerely stay true to these words daily and when it is demanded of us? We shy away from talking about giving our all to God because we think that genuinely giving everything to God will hurt us and put us at a disadvantage. We might not say it, but many of us have these thoughts at the back of our minds. Therefore while we raise hands in worship and speak words declaring to give God everything we have, our actions unconsciously hold back. We do the opposite of what we declare.

In Genesis 22, Abraham obeyed God’s command to sacrifice Isaac, demonstrating what it means to give God all you have. God instructed him to sacrifice his only son, whom he loved dearly, and the next day, Abraham set out to obey God’s command. Abraham did not hesitate or second-guess God’s instruction. It was as if he had been waiting on God for this instruction. What did Abraham know and understand about God? Abraham understood that he was only a custodian, but God owned his son. Abraham understood that God could provide a son or a Lamb for sacrifice. He understood that giving God his only son was not a loss. If we are children of God, the first thing we have to acknowledge is that nothing we own, including our lives, belongs to us. You can only lose what you have. So if we own nothing, we lose nothing. Giving God everything He has given you is your worship to Him. If we surrender all to God, we are not at a loss. God gave His all in Jesus to teach us love, sacrifice and commitment.

Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” John 6:5-9, NLT

In the passage above, Jesus asked Philip, “where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” Jesus knew what to do, but he was testing Philip. Philip’s response demonstrated that his faith relied only on physical and material resources. Jesus tested Philip to let him know that we cannot always depend on physical and material resources. Many of us will find it challenging to give up some of the material things we own for the sake of the gospel. We cling to these things like our lives depend on them, and somehow, our mindset is wired to think we cannot survive or meet our daily needs and demands without having material resources in excess. Philip was being pragmatic with his response, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money”. However, he forgot that with Jesus, it is not about the size or quantity of what is available. If it is available, it can be used. Even an hour’s salary was enough for Jesus to use.

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In verse 9 of the same bible passage, a young boy offered five barley loaves and two fishes to the disciples. Andrew did not think it was enough, but Jesus knew it was more than enough. This young boy gave up his food to Jesus; he gave his all. The boy gave everything he had to Jesus without thinking of what he would get back in return. In the grand scheme of things, he did not matter to the ordinary eye; he was just a little boy with a little lunch. However, the moment he decided to give all he had to Jesus, he did not only become a valuable instrument for provision, but he also became an example of faith and sacrifice to all, including the disciples.

Jesus gave thanks to God for the food, and it was enough to feed 5000 men. They had twelve baskets of leftovers after everyone was satisfied. Who would have thought that a meagre meal could meet such a huge demand? When we give our all to God, He uses it for kingdom assignments greater than what we can give or can do by our strength. God does not use what we give to Him according to our capacity but His capacity. That boy’s lunch had the capacity to feed just him and maybe his family, but with God, it could feed over 5000. What are you holding back that you have refused to give to God?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1,NLT

Sometimes giving your all to God means leaving everything that weighs you down spiritually. To effectively give your all to the work of proclaiming the gospel, you must be prepared to let go of excesses. Let your eye refuse to see corruption, let your ear refuse to hear the voice of sin, let your mouth refuse to speak evil, let your heart refuse to meditate on what is impure, refuse to walk in the path of unrighteousness and let your hands refuse to do evil. Instead, yield your life totally to God as an instrument of righteousness.

When we give God our praise and worship, let it be our all. When we give our time, money, tangible and intangible resources to the work of the gospel, let it be our all. Even if you have nothing substantial to give, tell God, “I give myself”. God sees and examines our hearts; He knows if we truly surrender or submit to Him. As we have confessed and decided to live for Christ, let us not hold back anything regarding this commitment. Let your love and fellowship with God be from the depth of your heart. Be immersed in walking with God to the extent that you cannot survive outside the realm of this relationship and fellowship. Let God be your all in all, and let every area of your life reflect God’s ownership of your soul.