June 30, 2022
Give It to Him Again
Linsey Driskill
Today’s Truth
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1 NIV).
Friend to Friend
Some of you might have heard the phrase, “Give it to Jesus,” if there is something you have been struggling with.
You’re venting or expressing your heart, and then you hear, “Give it to Jesus.” As though you haven’t done that because you’re still struggling.
Just the other day I heard those words as I was remembering some of the painful parts of what my dad went through during his ten-month fight in the hospital after getting covid.
My dad – one of my biggest inspirations and one of the strongest and most optimistic people I’ve ever known – at the age of 76, he was even running nine miles a week! I think of how he had the gift of being married to my mom, the love of his life, for almost 50 years, even though his own mom was married seven times. I think of how he had such a great love for people and Jesus and of how I am a daddy’s girl through and through.
I am thankful that at the end of that ten months, he was able to come home for three weeks before he went to be with the Lord in 2021. One of my favorite memories was watching the movie, The Natural, with him. Together. At home. I will cherish that simple moment forever.
But, that painful ten-month season gives me flashbacks, moments of hurt and pain when my mind drifts back to what he experienced.
I have given these moments to Jesus time and time again, knowing he is in the best place he could possibly be right now – with the Lord.
But then a trigger comes, and my heart overflows with tears, my mind spirals with “what ifs”, and my soul is burdened by the pain he endured and from missing him. And, so the cycle continues, and once again, I lay my heart before the Lord, giving it all to Him.
I feel it, cry it, release it, and again, give it to the Lord, a moment at a time. It comes and goes in waves. If you’ve experienced grief, you might be able to relate.
The Lord longs for us to experience freedom as we put it in His hands. Galatians 5:1 tells us that “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”
You might experience immediate freedom when you give it to the Lord, sharing it with Him with open hands.
Or, the freedom might come for only a moment once you give it to Him, or pray about it, only to find yourself struggling once again with that thing, that heartache, that pain.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you haven’t “given it to the Lord.” It could just mean that you’re human and feel and have emotions, and that some things just take time.
And that’s okay.
Jesus had moments of feeling mad, joyful, and at peace, and He is God. So, as humans, it makes sense that we have ups and downs on the journey of giving it all to Him, a day at a time, a moment at a time.
If the Lord thought we didn’t need to come to him daily about things, He might have said, “Give us this year our yearly bread.”
But, that’s not what He says at all. In Matthew 6:11, Jesus says, “Give us TODAY our DAILY bread.”
We are meant to come to Jesus again and again.
So, then, what does it mean to “give it to Jesus”? I think it means that when that heartache, that pain, that struggle rises in our minds and hearts, we ask the Lord to walk with us, to help us, to free us, to restore us, to strengthen us, again, and again, and again. And, that, is where the freedom and healing comes.
And, that, is “giving it to the Lord”.
Yes, the Lord can work a miracle by setting us free in an instant, but He can also work
a miracle by setting us free a moment at a time as we walk step by step with the Lord, and that is beautiful.
And, that, is giving it to the Lord.
Even if some pain and struggle remain. That is just what He wants of us – to keep coming to Him.
Oh, how the Lord wants us to really live by letting Him into our hearts to become our Savior, our Peace, simply by asking Him. And, how He wants to walk with us because He loves us, in whatever we are dealing with, to set us free as we give it to Him.
Day by day.
Moment by moment.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, set us free. Thank You that You have set us free to live in eternity with You when we ask You to be our Savior. Lord, set us free here and now too. Moment by moment, we give our pains and struggles and heartaches to You. Help us experience the freedom You have come to give us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
What is something you have given to the Lord, whether it was a one-time thing, or something you have given to Him again and again and again?
How have you experienced freedom in the Lord?
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© 2022 by Linsey Driskill. All rights reserved.
Originally published Thursday, 30 June 2022.
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