He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind"; and "Love your neighbor as yourself.”
—Luke 10:27

It is time for us to let go of the temporal or earthly things that have grabbed our attention for so long. Honestly examine your heart, your checkbook, and your time. Where is your focus? Is it on your personal pleasure and satisfaction, or is your focus on the things of God? As I heard Dr. Creflo Dollar at The Upper Midwest Faith Explosion at Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota say, “Wherever you spend your time and money is where your heart is.” Where is your heart?

I would like to say that my heart has always been focused on the things of God, but I would be a liar if I wrote that. I can honestly say that after being saved for almost twenty-two years, I feel like I am finally focused on what really matters. What really matters is seeing God’s kingdom come and His will being done. I simply want to be used by God in whatever way He sees fit. I have finally given up on being the driver in my life. I am fully surrendered to God and His will for me. That frightens and excites me all at the same time!

Why the mix of emotions? The stirred up feelings is because I am stepping out in areas where I never thought that God would call me. They are not areas that necessarily come naturally to me. The first thing that happened is that my family and I picked up from our life in Faribault, Minnesota and relocated to Vancleave, Mississippi. Second, I am getting involved in the youth group and choir at our church in Biloxi.

Every day is an experience as I learn to lean on God more and more. Proverbs 3:5-12 in The Message Translation instructs us as follows:

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction. It's the child he loves that GOD corrects; a father's delight is behind all this.

Copyright © 2010 by Stephanie Gulland Share