Trust God With Your Best (Spotlight on Faith Series 2)

I love the Lord. I say I trust God. But do my actions always show that trust? 

The Lord is a jealous God, desiring our undivided devotion, a devotion that gives Him our first, our best, our all. But if I’m honest, instead of giving the Lord my best, I’m often giving Him what’s left.

Too often, instead of giving the Lord our first and our best, we give Him what's left. The Lord is a jealous God: He wants our undivided devotion, a devotion that gives Him our first, our best, our all. Click To Tweet

Idols

I often hesitate to give the Lord my best for fear He’ll actually take it. I’m tempted to harbor a scarcity mentality, fearing there’s only so much to go around. While entrenched in that mindset, I hold my “stuff” extra tight. It may be my people, my money, my prized possession, my time. 

Instead of obedience and devotion in surrendering to God, I make those things I cherish my idols. We see this with Cain in Genesis 4. In the first recorded account of sibling rivalry and murder, we see Cain idolizing his crops. He will give some, but the first and the best he holds onto.

Instead of complete devotion, Cain offers conditional worship. The Lord knows His heart in the matter and rejects His insincere offerings of the leftovers. This results in Cain killing his innocent brother Abel in anger.

Nothing good comes out of holding anything in our lives too tightly, even our loved ones. When we are willing to give to God freely and completely, we are worshipping Him fully and purely. 

Nothing good comes out of holding anything in our lives too tightly, even our loved ones. When we are willing to give to God freely and completely, we are worshipping Him fully and purely. Click To Tweet

Abel (Genesis 4:2-8)

After Adam and Eve sinned, God “sent [them] away from the garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:23). They learned how to live off the land. In due time, the first man and woman gave birth to two boys, first Cain and then Abel (the Bible later records the birth of another son, Seth). Cain worked the ground, but his brother became a shepherd. Since their parents disobeyed God, sin had entered the world; therefore, sacrifices had become a necessary atonement. Cain presented “some of the land’s produce ”(4:3), but Abel presented “some of the firstborn of his flock” (4:4). The wording here is telling. Cain gave something; Abel gave the first fruits, the best he had. Thus, God accepted Abel’s offering, but rejected Cain’s, causing Cain to fly into a rage and become “despondent.” Cain gave grudgingly; Abel, in faith, gave willingly. In his anger, Cain planned and carried out the killing of his brother. What? It doesn’t seem fair that the righteous one (Abel) died, does it? But through his worship in life, Abel’s faith speaks volumes, landing him on the hero of faith list.

Trust God

It’s in giving God our first and best, our all, that we demonstrate our faith, that we say, I trust you, Lord. We worship purely and walk rightly when we lay down those things we highly esteem. Like Abel, when we give to God willingly and fully, our faith speaks volumes. 

It's in giving God our first and best, our all, that we demonstrate our faith, that we say, I trust you, Lord. We worship purely and walk rightly when we lay down those things we highly esteem. Click To Tweet

And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” Luke 4:8 ESV 

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, Hebrews 12:28 ESV

(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), Exodus 34:14 

Prayer

Lord, it’s so easy to hold tightly to those things on this earth we love. We fear losing them, so we clutch them close. Like Cain, we give You our second best. We worship You half-heartedly. Help us become more like Abel, whose righteousness shone in his death because He willingly gave you his best, His all. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Reflections: What do you tend to hold too tightly? What do you need to fully surrender? Ask the Lord to help you loosen your grip on those cherished things in your life, fully entrusting them into His hands.

By His grace ≈

Julie