First, let me say that I am so happy to be writing again. There’s so much that I feel led to share with whoever chooses to listen and I’m happy to be back at it.

I’ll start this article by saying that these past four days were pretty great. I got to visit one of my best friends and meet all the sweet gals that she grew up with. They were some of the most welcoming souls and I honestly felt so loved. We spent most of the weekend going from house to house spending time with each other, going on hikes and playing that really ridiculous game with the plastic mouthpiece where you try to say phrases with it in your mouth and everyone just ends up laughing (and in my case crying too haha). Then, we ended the weekend by worshipping at Passion City Church. I always love hearing Louie G (Giglio) speak and man did God speak through him. This is where the title comes into play.

I’m going to be very honest for a second. I haven’t been plainly open about things on my page yet but that’s how you reach people so from now on, that’s how it’s going to be.

I have been struggling for a while with worry and letting that reign over me instead of truthfully giving things to the Lord. The fact of the matter is that we can say that we give things to God all day long, but until we actually do it we will never feel peace. I know that, at least for me, I give my worries and fears and anxieties to God just to take them right back because the devil throws something new our way and we try to take control yet again. It’s such a vicious cycle.

To add to that, another reason to completely give it to God is that anything we put above Him is an idol. Period. Anything that we let control our hearts and minds that is not Him is an idol. And if you didn’t know, our God is an incredibly jealous God. So, when these fleshly things like fear and worry and doubt reign over my thoughts I’m focusing straightforward and not straight up.

If we, as sinning humans, try to fix our own problems we will end up at every dead end possible. However, if our focus is continuously straight to the God that made us and knows exactly how many hairs are on our heads and where we will be in 15 years and who we will marry and every little thing about us, then our focus should be on the facts stated in two of my favorite verses from the Old and New Testament:

Exodus 14:14

“The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.”

Romans 8:28

“And we know that all things work together for them that love God who are called according to His purpose.”

If we simply open our hands and give God what we’ve been holding onto for so long, we will see the most extravagant results. And those things can span from the worry and doubt that I struggle with to an unhealthy relationship or an addiction or the job you have that you know that you aren’t called to. We have to give our cares to the Lord or we aren’t letting Him fully use us as servants.

With that being said, today’s message at church was the end of a series called Anchored. Obviously, it’s about being anchored in the Lord and what it means for Him to be our firm foundation. The last section of this series was about worship, “Extravagant Worship”. You’re probably thinking, “BG, what does that have to do with your struggles lately?” Well. I’ll tell you. Today Louie G said “It’s always loud where there’s worship”…… woah. What? Literally, my thoughts when he said that. (Also just making it known that those are Louie's words not mine!!) But then we walked through it.

First of all, it’s loud in worship (in our actual service, so music, the band, etc.) because God deserves all of the praise and adoration.

Second, it’s going to be even louder in Heaven because it’s Heaven and how amazing is it going to be when every believer that has ever existed will be at the feet of Jesus!!!! WOW. But then there are other places too. It’s loud at shopping malls. It’s loud at concerts. It’s loud at football games.

Now don’t get me wrong, going to a football game or concert doesn’t mean that you’re worshipping football or the singer that is singing, however, when put anything or look up to anything and put it above God, it’s an idol. And yes, we are worshipping it. That is such a reality that we don’t even realize takes place every single day. But, it is something that we need to think about.

When our thoughts are constantly on things of this earth and we don’t fill our minds with scripture and put our rest in Him, then we are humanly programmed to do like I’ve been doing. Holding on and on to my fear and doubt and worry and stress and everything else. We seek solace in our own ways and not letting God have every fiber of our being because He is the one who created us in the first place. I mean when we think about it, it’s kind of silly to try to control our own lives because they aren’t even ours to live. We’re only here because of Him and our purpose, which is to spread the light of the Lord!

Okay. So that was a lot, but it really is a full circle. But, everything is different when we pursue and know God as our guide and our eyes are on Him. It’s completely beautiful. His open-armed grace and mercy is ocean that we could never see the depths of.

Worship isn’t just singing songs in church. It is our responsibility, in every action and word and in every way that we live our life, to God. Worship is giving him Glory in the way we walk, every second of every day. It is so enamoring to think about. It’s so so beautiful. God deserves every bit of us and every bit of our worship, so that’s my challenge to you and myself. Let’s pursue Him even more so that our worship will be His and His alone.

If you need anything, prayer, someone to talk to, a friend, an accountability partner, make sure to shoot me a message. We’re all in this walk together.

Xoxo

BG