How to Submit to Christ with Open Hands
Intro to Myself and The Article
I'm a 23 year old Computer Technician who loves God with all his heart and is on a continual daily trek toward understanding truly what it means to follow Jesus. This article is another step toward understanding that, and hopefully someone, maybe only one person will read this article and gain something from it. I do these things, and write these things through The Holy Spirit and in Jesus' Holy Name, Amen.
Open Hands, you say? Please explain.
Well, imagine a situation where a man is out at sea, in the arctic regions of alaska. He has brought on his ship his greatest possessions and since he was a part of the military, he wore his royal military uniforms. He also brought along coal enough to last for 12 days. What ended up happening to this man is his ship got stuck in the ice, far away from any help, and the coal in the engines ran out, so either he could freeze to death aboard the ship or trek out in search of help.
He decided to trek out, carrying behind him a great sled. He made it 65 miles before he succumbed to the temperatures. Now, what was in his sled? All his favorite possessions. Fine china, books, etc. He wasn't willing to abandon his possessions, even if it meant his life.
Abandon is the word of the day. Perhaps if he had abandoned all that he held dear, he would have made it to an outpost and survived. Many Christians today are like this man. They call themselves Christians, yet instead of following Jesus with their whole heart, they are tugging along behind them everything that is meant to bog them down.
Treasures on Earth, Open Your Hands and Release Them
When you choose to follow Christ, it is imperative yet seemingly impossible at times, to abandon everything that you hold dear, and everything that this world says you MUST care about. This includes finances, jobs, relationships, and possessions.
Once you have abandoned all of these things, once you have freed yourself of these things, and come to Christ with Open Hands, you'll know that you're following him with every bit of yourself.
How do I Approach Him?
Get down on your knees and put your face on the floor. Put your palms face up and pray a simple prayer:
"Dear Lord, I come before you with open hands, I have discarded all the problems and issues I have in this world, and I want to follow you. What do you want me to do?"
He will speak to you in many different ways, but getting into that "What do you want me to do?" and asking that in earnest, not with gut-wrenching pain and fear at what God might respond with. God knows your troubles, God knows your hurts and your pains and fears already, so don't even try to avoid what He has in store for you. Just Submit yourself to Him with Open Hands. Every personal journey with Christ is different, but these general concepts remain the same.
He will ask you to do things that are outside your comfort zone, outside your character, and that will challenge you, but He will never give you more than you can handle. If you leave the specific details to God, and just do as He asks you to, you'll not only be relieved of that GIANT sled that you've been toting around, but also you'll be fulfilling God's will, which is superb!
Now, Think About This....
At the end times, Jesus will be sitting on the throne and he will separate the sheep from the goats, the true followers from the false ones, and he will basically determine your eternity based upon whether or not you followed His true calling and did everything you could for the Least of These. Clothe the poor, visit people in prison, comfort orphans and widows, and encounter people who are downtrodden and forgotten or taboo by society. This is what Jesus did in his ministry and it's what He commands of us. For the sake of eternity, even. It's a powerful challenge He lays before us (and I wish I could quote scripture in this article, but they take that as plagiarism.)
I hope some of this has helped someone to realize something about their walk with Christ and move them from being Hearers of the Word and become Doers of the Word, for those who Hear and do not Do, are like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and as soon as he looks away, forgets his appearance. Your faith is coupled with works. But I"ll leave that for another article. Have a wonderful day, and I pray for you all daily! In Jesus Holy Name, Amen!
