Articles
“Are You Committed to GOD? Tanner Stepp”
Categories: Are You Committed?Commitment to the Creator, to God our Father
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6: 9-13
Almost a decade ago, when I played high school basketball, our team would circle up in the locker room before each game. We would bow our heads and close our eyes. One of my teammates would lead this prayer. He would say one section at a time and then the rest of the team would follow suit. As it neared the end, he would get a little bit louder, as would we. After it was over, we would line up and head through the tunnel of fans and cheerleaders to the court. The game would be played and more times than not, our team was on the losing end.
At this time in my life, I was the opposite of being committed to God. No matter how many games we played, or how many times we recited this prayer, it had no bearing on how I actually lived my life. I thought at the time, “Saying this prayer might give us enough favor in God’s eyes that we might win tonight.” As selfish as that sounds, this is the person that I was.
A couple of years later, at a Wednesday night church service, I dedicated my life to God, to Jesus, and to the church. I no longer wanted to be held down by my selfish attitudes. I no longer wanted to walk through this life bargaining with our Creator in hopes I would get something in return. I wanted to be fully committed to God.
I now read this passage in Matthew 6 and see exactly what Jesus saw about our Lord: everything in our life belongs to God; everything we do here is for Him and hopefully to His liking; He is able to provide us with all of our needs; He is the example when it comes to forgiveness; and He has all the power to help us overcome our biggest struggles.
There comes a point in everyone’s life where they will either commit their life to this world or to the One who created us, loves us, and gave up His son for us. Proverbs 16:3 says that if we commit our work to the Lord, our plans will be established. That is a guarantee to all who obey Him. The world does not offer such a guarantee. No matter what is stacked against you, being committed to God puts you on His team, the winning team. Take my story and compare it your own life. Are you constantly bargaining with God in hopes that something will just miraculously happen? Are you committed to someone or something other than the One who knows us best? Be the person who dedicates their life to serving God, and in return He will draw near to you (James 4:8).
