The Shema: Deuteronomy 6:4-5 says “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”
My church is in the middle of a two-year discipleship journey called One. The theme of this has been us asking ourselves “is God the one thing that drives everything in our lives?” Are we loving Him with all? This theme has changed my life.
The past year, the Lord has totally wrecked me of my pride and complete disobedience. I found myself questioning who am I? It’s been a year full of growth, redemption, and a lot of forgiveness as I ended a three-year relationship in early 2019. I totally lost sight of who Jesus has called me to be and lost all my joy. I hit the lowest of lows and I saw no way out.
I joined a discipleship group that pushed me to Jesus like I had never experienced before. I came to the honest conclusion that no longer was God not the one thing driving everything… I wasn’t allowing Him to drive anything. I wasn’t loving Him with all because I was barely loving Him at all.
So over the year, I made it my life’s theme to ask if He the one thing that is driving everything. My pastor says He isn’t first in sequence He is first in essence. He is the very page we write our list on. He’s more than just #1.
When we take a step back and ask ourselves if we love God with ALL our heart, ALL our soul, ALL our mind, and ALL our strength… we can all say no. If you think you are, you’re full of pride so you ain’t. It’s not about perfection but it’s about love. We serve a God full of grace and mercy. He isn’t expecting perfection just obedience. We are still human and full of sin but we have a Father who has taken care of that on our behalf.
At the end of last year, we revisited these verses in Deuteronomy. As we talked about loving God with all our strength I was more convicted than I have felt in a long time. We talked about our bodies being a form of worship I realized how horrible I treat mine. Pastor Joby asked us “What if God called you out on the mission field but you weren’t ready?” I remember sitting in my seat thinking… Oh crap, He already did and I am not ready. I was not loving God with all my strength because I couldn’t. I had to be honest with myself again and admit that I loved food more than God. That was a tough one to admit. As I partnered with my doctor and developed a program to help me lose some weight and get into shape, I’m motivated by asking myself am I loving God with all my strength? Is this food I am eating going to allow me to share the Gospel? Am I bringing Him glory through how I treat my body? Is He the one thing driving everything?
I know it’s the start of a long journey but I am more than ever sure that The Lord is with me. As the preparation for this trip continues financially, spiritually, and physically I ask that you pray alongside me for the reminder when things get tough that He’s worth it and worthy of our everything.
Much love,
Allie
