Things Get Better if you submit to Jesus

jisaiah6113

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Just a note of encouragement. I am a basketball fan and am trying to submit to Jesus Christ and let Him direct my life. It's the scariest thing I've ever done but it's by far the most rewarding. What that practically means is that if He tells me to do something, I do it (and this is the hard part) JOYFULLY, not out of guilt, obligation, or a spirit of moaning and complaining, like serving God is a chore. I do this under the condition that God will be with me to EQUIP me to do whatever He is asking me to do. I surrender to God, knowing that He has to enable me to make this choice. That based on my own merit, I cannot make this choice. I am too proud and too egotistical to surrender my sawed off half penny to gain His fortune and mansion in heaven and even earthly riches like joy, peace, and the anointing.

So the reason this post seems random is that I came across an interview on Christmas day with LeBron James, the basketball star. He says the following below, and you can see the video in the ESPN link. I found that he articulated something which is quite agreeable to my spirit. I feel like having your faith and identity on that end of things straightened out is CRUCIAL to developing a "Battle plan" moving forward in life. I can't really post this anywhere secular, because non-believers wouldn't understand, and they would turn to things other than faith to nurture their sense of identity. Obviously, LeBron James is leaning on the natural maturation process of life to come to his conclusions. But at the end of the day, having faith to begin with and growing in a specific faith tradition and community, with your PERSONAL walk with Jesus Christ increasing each day through personal disciplines, will highly EXPEDITE the process of your growth.

What I can tell you in reference to what LeBron is saying is that he's absolutely right. My Mom used to call the 20's "a ball of confusion" and she was right. I didn't realize what she meant until now. I'm 33. People in their 20's are always trying to please others as a general rule it seems. Now that I'm 33 and I know exactly which faith tradition I want to be a part of, what I believe will happen when I die, Who holds the world in His hands, Who orders events in such a way that nothing truly evil can happen to me, knowing that Jesus loves me unconditionally and that God's love for us is greater than a broken, fallen human mind can ever comprehend, and knowing that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, is enough to make me realize I am secure in life and that I don't have to people please. I can go about my life and know exactly what my priorities are, who I'd like to hang out with, what disciplines I want to invest in to grow, what careers sound appealing to me, how to distinguish between a career and something I just enjoy, such as a hobby. Having been through a few experiences with women, I know exactly what kind of woman I would want to be with, even though I am not sure whether I am called to the single life or to married life, or the priesthood. I don't have a set agenda on life. I focus on worshipping Jesus Christ each day and I let Him direct where I should go. As scary as that sounds, and actually is, it's much less scary than the alternative. I know my path won't be easy or devoid of rejection or embarrassment, but in the end it will lead to eternal life. And that's something I can live with. Our lives, hopes, and plans are nothing but a sawed off penny. All we need to do is hand it over to the Lord and let Him bless us with millions from His heavenly throne room. You think the Vatican is rich? King Jesus is ENORMOUSLY wealthy. "All authority in heaven and earth" has been given to Him. He knows everything and has your life in His hand. Don't hesitate to ask Him for the strength to surrender and trust that He will do the work! No human being would ever surrender to God on their own accord. We are willing to be willing, and then He does the work through us.

Friends, if you follow this advice, your life in the "terrific thirties" will become infinitely more terrific. While my life is still not easy, my path is ABSOLUTELY clear and I have peace in my heart. I may not know the path ahead of me. I don't know specifics. I don't know if I will be run over by a car tomorrow or whether I will be a priest in five years. Maybe I will have a beautiful wife and two kids. Maybe I will be at the lectern at St. Peter's basilica in Rome. Maybe none of those things will happen. But I know one thing. Jesus is Lord!




LeBron: 'I don't feel like it's ever been toxic around me'

Rachel Nichols: Merry Christmas, LeBron James.

LeBron James: I appreciate it. Merry Christmas to you, too.

RN: And happy birthday because you are turning 34 just a few days from now. What does it feel like to be in your mid-30s, since you are officially there now?

LJ: Right, right! I mean, it feels good. I'll tell everybody who's in their late 20s that the 30s is kind of the best time of your life where you just-- you know who you are, you know what you want, you know what doesn't matter, you have your priorities right. I think in your 20s you're so much trying to please everybody, or you're trying too much to please yourself but don't even know what you want out of yourself. So when you get in your 30s -- and beyond -- I believe you just, you have everything in place.
 

WilliamBo

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I also just exited my 20s, I'm 30 now. I have to say, it honestly feels refreshing. Being young was so stressful for me. I was always worried about fitting in but filled with so much sin at the same time and always feeling guilty about it and never able to get myself out of it. I did find Christ when I was 23/24 and i feel like i am just NOW beginning to really surrender.

Yes, Jesus is Lord. I don't know what my life is going to bring either. I can't even imagine what I will look like in 5 years in all honesty. I just know I have to surrender to Christ. The only thing that is making sense to me at this point in my life is to completely forget about anything I think I know about God or anything I think I know about life and just learn from Jesus. There's no other route to take in life. Every single other avenue in this life will lead you into darkness. Its the truth. Dont give up bro. Thanks for this post, it was encouraging.
 
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jisaiah6113

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William, I like your attitude. The exciting thing you wrote is that, "I can't even imagine what I will look like in 5 years in all honesty." That means you are anticipating GROWTH. So much growth that you don't even know who you will be in five years. That's EXCITING.

Jesus said to count the cost. What He didn't say is that the cost of following Him is infinitely less than the cost of not following Him. Yes, it costs EVERYTHING to follow Jesus, and it means you have no control over your destiny. But when you give up your life, He promises you will gain it back. The hardest part for me is the part about the "living sacrifice." The New Testament says, "For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame." The prophecy of Christ in the Psalms which talks about Him coming into the world says, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for Me. Burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, "Here I am, I have come, it is written about Me in the scroll: I DELIGHT to do Your will, O God; Your law is within My heart." (Psalm 40:6-8). The tough part is not the sacrifice and the surrender. The tough part is being EXCITED about it. Scripture says that in light of the mercies of God, surrender is our reasonable service. But I want to get to the place where I say, "Thank you God for the privilege of surrender! Thank you that serving you is a PRIVILEGE, not a duty! Thank you that I GET to serve you. I don't have to serve you. I could live a life of selfish futility and you could choose someone else. I am expendable, Lord God! Your program will continue with or without my cooperation. But my life will be FUTILE if not surrendered to you!"

When that sacrifice comes with surrender, God is pleased. Why? Because He knows we're not really sacrificing anything to begin with. Not anything that doesn't already belong to His power and His creation. He already said, "Mine." By relinquishing control, we give Him back what He already asks. And our payout is MASSIVE.
 
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Tolworth John

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am trying to submit to Jesus Christ and let Him direct my life. It's the scariest thing I've ever done but it's by far the most rewarding. What that practically means is that if He tells me to do something, I do it (and this is the hard part) JOYFULLY, not out of guilt, obligation, or a spirit of moaning and complaining, like serving God is a chore.

Please ensure that you are well grounded in the basics, as this is what will support you when obedience to God hurts.
 
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eleos1954

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I also just exited my 20s, I'm 30 now. I have to say, it honestly feels refreshing. Being young was so stressful for me. I was always worried about fitting in but filled with so much sin at the same time and always feeling guilty about it and never able to get myself out of it. I did find Christ when I was 23/24 and i feel like i am just NOW beginning to really surrender.

Yes, Jesus is Lord. I don't know what my life is going to bring either. I can't even imagine what I will look like in 5 years in all honesty. I just know I have to surrender to Christ. The only thing that is making sense to me at this point in my life is to completely forget about anything I think I know about God or anything I think I know about life and just learn from Jesus. There's no other route to take in life. Every single other avenue in this life will lead you into darkness. Its the truth. Dont give up bro. Thanks for this post, it was encouraging.

A lot of us don't start to mature until we are in our 30's

Ephesians 4:13-15

until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

God Bless.
 
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jisaiah6113

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Please ensure that you are well grounded in the basics, as this is what will support you when obedience to God hurts.

I didn't understand what this meant at first, but now I think your advice is incredibly wise.
 
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WilliamBo

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William, I like your attitude. The exciting thing you wrote is that, "I can't even imagine what I will look like in 5 years in all honesty." That means you are anticipating GROWTH. So much growth that you don't even know who you will be in five years. That's EXCITING.

Jesus said to count the cost. What He didn't say is that the cost of following Him is infinitely less than the cost of not following Him. Yes, it costs EVERYTHING to follow Jesus, and it means you have no control over your destiny. But when you give up your life, He promises you will gain it back. The hardest part for me is the part about the "living sacrifice." The New Testament says, "For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame." The prophecy of Christ in the Psalms which talks about Him coming into the world says, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for Me. Burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, "Here I am, I have come, it is written about Me in the scroll: I DELIGHT to do Your will, O God; Your law is within My heart." (Psalm 40:6-8). The tough part is not the sacrifice and the surrender. The tough part is being EXCITED about it. Scripture says that in light of the mercies of God, surrender is our reasonable service. But I want to get to the place where I say, "Thank you God for the privilege of surrender! Thank you that serving you is a PRIVILEGE, not a duty! Thank you that I GET to serve you. I don't have to serve you. I could live a life of selfish futility and you could choose someone else. I am expendable, Lord God! Your program will continue with or without my cooperation. But my life will be FUTILE if not surrendered to you!"

When that sacrifice comes with surrender, God is pleased. Why? Because He knows we're not really sacrificing anything to begin with. Not anything that doesn't already belong to His power and His creation. He already said, "Mine." By relinquishing control, we give Him back what He already asks. And our payout is MASSIVE.


Thanks, yea it is exciting. It's exciting to finally get to a point where I can finally let go of pride and walk in Gods love. I pray for that same attitude you have, that I never take serving God for granted. Sacrificing myself is also the hardest part because after all it's myself. Why wouldn't it be hard? Thanks for your response
 
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