For a moment, think about giving up your life to God–your total life, 100 percent, leaving nothing out.
A feeling of fear might arise or thoughts like, “It’s not possible in today’s world” or “I’ll have to give up too many things I enjoy.”
Does the voice behind these thoughts sound familiar? It should, it has been tempting you your whole life.
The first post of this three-part testimony describes how I gave my life to Christ. That was when these words of Jesus made total sense to me: “If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it” (Luke 17:33).
When we get the call to give our life to Christ, everything imaginable will tempt us to turn the other way. Yet what other way is there? When we are faced with the moment of death and we wonder if our soul is saved, what other way exists?
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are a new creation. And yet parts of our old life will linger. We will come face to face with our old ways and may feel tempted to wonder, Is this worth it?
New Realities
From personal experience, I can say this road contains both exhilarating and challenging experiences. It feels impossible to explain without sharing some real examples.
A couple weeks after going to my first Bible study I talked with my then-boyfriend-now-husband about faith. I knew what the word meant in my mind; I had memorized the definition many times from religion class as a kid. But that night something amazing happened.
We discussed how Moses heard God calling him to return to Egypt, even though he had run away fearing for his life so many years before. How could he ever go back? He had a new life now; a quiet life where no one knew his past. I would’ve been scared too! Why would anyone listen to him? How would anyone know him?
It was by faith that he moved forward.
And in faith, God sent Aaron, his biological brother to meet him and speak for him.
Suddenly this deep insight dropped into my understanding, and faith became “alive” to my senses. I “felt” the meaning of faith in my heart; it was like a light bulb went off… Aha, I get what this means.
And at that moment, I could breathe through my nose clearly. It was like air came pouring into my lungs.
Not that I had a breathing problem before, but I often felt like I had a stuffy nose. At that moment I could breathe in and out so clearly. It felt refreshing I didn’t want to stop.
Then I looked at David like, What is happening?
One part of me wondered how weird this must’ve looked, but another part of me trusted I was in understanding company. Having had his own experiences as a new believer years earlier, he didn’t seem surprised.
Let me tell you, God is real. And it was by His touch alone that my life was changed. And that was the moment He allowed me to understand faith.
Now if you had just experienced that, you’d probably want to share it with family and friends, right? So that’s what takes us to the other side of the transition phase: What happens when our new life in Christ meets our old life?
Old Realities
When I started telling people about these experiences, there was a certain silence and maybe even polite curiosity that followed. The unspoken question lingering in the air went something like this: Is Jenn going nuts?
I could feel it and in some cases see it.
When we find a new life in Christ, our old life doesn’t always celebrate the win. In some cases people like us the way we were, and change comes hard. It’s no wonder we lose friends and even family members when we choose God. It also brings to mind a verse that isn’t always easy to understand:
Jesus said:
Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:51-53)
It didn’t use to make sense to me, but as I’ve come to understand it, when we choose Jesus, it can divide us from people in our life who do not choose Him; who do not want to hear about Him or be around His spirit in us. Others could end up turning away, losing interest in us, leaving. But it’s not really about us; it’s about spiritual conviction.
As we experience the transition of letting go of the old and embracing God, we can feel haunted by the past.
Evil works to derail us with thoughts like, Who are you to do God’s work? Don’t you remember when you… fill in the blank. Or, What if this other way of life was meant for you?
When temptations arise, we have to remember that God is in control and His will for our life is better than our own. We trust Him to lead the way, letting go of our own selfish direction that lead us down the wrong path time and time again.
Others will remind us of our past, but we must remind them of our future.
We’ll have memories and regrets, but it’s important not to linger in them. I like to spend that time praying blessings and forgiveness when old memories arise, thankful to have a new life.
When we pray in earnest for God to help us stay the course, He will. So we must also plant ourselves in good soil. What does that mean? Read part three!
I am very much to this wonderful word of God. I appreciate it so much may god bless us all. Amen.
I have a problem with my daughter’s in-law. The dad is the one who purpose love to my daughter for his son, but the son is in USA and daughter is in Sierra Leone and the boy’s father is also in sierra Leone. But it has come to time that the boy’s father just hate my daughter because of the plane the boy has for daughter. By doing this, the relationship has almost stop or blocked.
So I really want you to give me some word of prayer for this relationship to continue and the boy to married this of my daughter.
My daughter has most become stressed for this boy so I really need your help through pray and a word of God.
Thanks be God to almighty.
Hi Grace. I’m sorry to hear that the situation with your daughter’s marriage proposal has become confusing. Remember that God has a plan, and He answers our prayers when they’re in line with His will. We don’t always know what His will is for our life, but we can pray that we stay open to it and follow the path He wants for us, even if it’s not what we would choose for ourselves — His plan is always the best plan ultimately.
While I don’t know the words from your heart or your daughter’s heart to pray in earnest to God, here’s one simple possibility: Lord, please give us (son, father, you, daughter) the courage to do the right thing. Please help me have patience with the current situation as the truth is revealed. God, I pray that you reveal what needs to be revealed in this situation. Please show yourself to us, and help us choose the right way to proceed–the way in line with your will. Lord, please help my daughter’s discomfort as the truth is revealed. Amen.
I’ll pray for you and your daughter, as well as the father and son.
I appreciate this wonder gift that made for me.
I will soon decide my to give my life to God.
Thanks be to god.
God bless you! May He lead you 🙂
How did things work out?
Thanks for your advice and including examples, I live alone and I am new at this, I don’t belong to a church, so being able to read this when I can be open minded and need help is really great.
I’m so glad this was helpful Jarrod! (And sorry for the late reply… just got back to writing again). I hope you find a great church body somewhere near you because that made a huge difference for me. Making friends and having the guidance and counsel of more mature Christians in the faith, especially when I had questions and difficulties was a total blessing.
Hi I just really wanted to let you know how helpful you have been. I am in a very rough time and didn’t know where to turn then I started praying, I’m not very religious but now I feel like I need to find God again, I have had Him in the past but have fallen away and I feel ashamed for that and I know now I should have never let myself walk away. I find now that He is just trying to help me, but when you talk about him taking over the reigns how did you know He did? I’m trying to figure everything out and I’m praying even more and more just hope He helps me because I really need him and want Him in my life again, do you have any advice for me?
Meghan, I understand because I walked away too so many times. And that’s probably why Jesus gave us the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), so we will know that God is waiting for us with open arms no matter what.
How did I know He took over my life? I had faith and trusted that He did. I believed. But I don’t think it was just my doing, I believe His Spirit changed me at that moment because I had a desire to know more about Him and seek Him. Then I met my future husband randomly at a cafe who invited me to church. That’s where I started hearing the Word of God taught.
Each one of us has a different journey, but the thing that helped me so much was praying about what church to attend where I could learn the Word of God (bible), make friends with other believers who are still some of my best friends to this day (and I’m always meeting more) and have the support of elders and mature Christians who understand what you’re going through and can encourage you in the Word.
Our walk with the Lord is a journey and we move to deeper levels with Him. He knows where we’re at in that walk and what we need next… we just need to trust Him. I hope that helps! Praying for you!
When faith came into your heart that night and you understood God opened the eyes of you heart which only he can do and that’s when true love and understanding begins. God bless you always.
Thank you! It was the moment I hold on to whenever I feel temptation or doubt. I know God is real and it was by His hand alone that my life changed.
I am experiening this change myself, so I can understand fully what I have read here.. I’m sure I will endure & triumph the battle. God bless
God bless you! I’ll be praying for you sister.