1741 Cut the Strings

BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

How successful have you been at making things happen in your life? You worked hard, you sacrificed, and you built something. Something to be proud of. You started with so little and with all your hard work, it grew to become so much more.

That’s a great thing. I’m so happy for your success. You’ve climbed the ladder, earned the position, accumulated much. You’ve set the goals and achieved the goals. Your life today resembles the 5 year plan you had. You worked … it worked.

Hot dang, you are a success. If you wrote a book, I would probably read it!

But all that success creates a problem … successful doers have a really hard time being humble recipients.

If we are used to always “doing” in our life, building it, earning it, creating it, growing it and working for it, then that becomes our only perspective in life. If I want it, I have to do whatever it takes to get it. Then we meet Jesus and his offer of eternal life.

Okay, Jesus, I want what you are offering, so I’m going to work to earn it. Us successful doers in life are horrible recipients of a gift that cannot be earned. We don’t know how to just receive, we keep trying to earn.

Where are my fellow doers? If there’s work to be done, you just do it. Letting someone help you just creates more work, so you always do it yourself. You have trouble receiving anything from anyone because deep down you feel you have to earn everything. (Yes, I’m talking to you.)

It’s easy to get puffed up with a secret pride knowing we are successful doers, all while that pride is blocking the offering of Jesus. We’re over here trying to clean ourselves up enough to be chosen by Jesus, all while Jesus chose us at our very worst. We’re constantly trying to check all the boxes to make us good enough, when the truth is, we will always fall short and need God’s grace. Always.

Here’s what Jesus is asking of you today … STOP TRYING TO EARN HIS LOVE AND JUST RECEIVE IT.

Here’s the problem with you thinking you have to do something for Jesus … there will always be more you could have done … there will always be some way you could have done it better, and Jesus’ perfection shines a harsh light on your imperfection.

There’s nothing you need to do for Jesus. He doesn’t need your success. Honey, I assure you he doesn’t need your talent or expertise. That’s a pressure and expectation you’ve put on yourself. Jesus already has everything and can do everything, your works are not necessary. He’s asking you to be a humble recipient of his love, grace and mercy with absolutely NO STRINGS ATTACHED.

But, for the successful doers, that’s a big ask. Receiving something so great with no ability to give it back… There’s no string of attachment that allows you to send your good works back to the one who first gave to you… Quite honestly, the successful doers don’t know what to do with that.

Within your Bible is the story of a successful doer who encounters Jesus. Jesus asks him to receive the gift of salvation with no strings attached, but all this successful man wanted was to know what HE COULD DO.

If you can do something to earn salvation, this means you could save yourself through your works. There’s no need for a savior if you can do enough to earn it. You become your own savior. And that’s what this successful doer in the Bible is trying to do … be his own savior, because it was too hard for him to accept there was nothing he could DO.

Girl, listen … this isn’t about WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR JESUS, THIS IS ABOUT WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR YOU.

Mark 10:17-27:
As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”
“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”
Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.
Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

To Jesus, it wasn’t about the rich man’s money, but to the rich man, it was all about his money. He had been a successful doer to build his fortune, and what he knew how to do was earn. So, all he wanted to know was how to EARN his way into the Kingdom of God. And Jesus says, YOU CAN’T.

You have to give all that up. Whatever it is you think you have to do for Jesus, that’s now getting in the way of his offer of grace.

Notice it says, “Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him.” What Jesus saw was a good man who was totally empty. He had it all, but he was still empty. He was willing to do anything and everything except for this one thing … humbly receive what cannot be earned. So, this man walked away sad because he didn’t know how to humbly receive something he couldn’t earn.

Ephesians 2:8-9, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

I must admit, there’s a little bit of pride that occasionally slips in when I consider myself one of God’s girls. If he has chosen me, then that must mean I was somehow good enough. I must have done something right. And deep down, I start taking credit for something I have absolutely no business taking credit for. God calling me his own is a GIFT and I did absolutely NOTHING to deserve it or earn it. He saved me because I could never save myself.

If we can’t humbly accept that, then we are no different than the rich man who walks away from Jesus sad because he didn’t want to give up all he had worked so hard to earn. If I can’t give up my grip on being a successful doer, then I too walk away sad. To receive this gift, I must be a humble recipient.

You must be a humble recipient.

I’ve always read the story of this rich man and disassociated with him. I’m not that rich, that couldn’t be me. But really, let’s put this into perspective here. Did you know if you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy. Girl, that’s you … you are wildly rich and ridiculously blessed.

So really, you are that rich man. You are here with an abundance when you look at the rest of the world. And to you, Jesus says, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN ANY HUMAN EFFORT. ONLY WITH GOD CAN YOU GET IN.

All your past successes may have made it really hard for you to humbly receive. You may be spending your days trying to earn God’s grace instead of living in God’s grace. The gift is here for you and all you have to do is accept it.

You have already been chosen. Your gift is here. There are no strings attached to this. There’s nothing you need to do other than receive the impossible.

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