Can you imagine yourself defeating your biggest enemy with a sling and a stone? Or how about walking up to a body of water and tapping it with your stick and watching the water roll back until you see dry land underneath? Personally, I would love to do all of those things, but above all, I want to see God. I want His goodness to pass before me. Some may call me crazy (and they have), but I believe all things are possible when you are All In with God.
That was the theme of our retreat this year –All In. Born again believers should live lives that are All In. We must have total commitment to every aspect and mandate of the Word of God. Jesus told us we must lose our lives to find life in Him.
He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:39 NKJV.
Jesus wants us to be completely committed to Him, His Word, His way and His Spirit. It all begins with faith. We have to believe we can do everything the Bible says we can including the same exploits Jesus did. When we begin to grasp the awe inspiring significance of those truths, we will go All In.
All in means total commitment to God. A commitment to be led by the Spirit of God to live, believe, and behave according to His plans for us. It is a commitment to stand on our faith whether things are looking good for us or not. It seems Peter had a glimpse of what it meant to a true “all in” follower of Jesus Christ when he got out of the boat. It may have seemed reckless or impulsive to the other disciples, but Peter was grabbing hold to real faith and stepping out on it. He did well until he looked at his surroundings instead of maintaining his focus on Jesus.
The Hebrew boys were all in. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (commonly known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) were committed to their beliefs. Even though they were in captivity, they stood firm. When their lives were threatened, they went all in when they said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18). Those young men went “All In” in and did not waiver in their faith while fully aware that they were facing a King who had already destroyed many. They rested in in the truth that God was not king of an empire, but the Creator of all things and the only King of All!
Throughout the Word of God, we read of everyday people doing extraordinary things. They went all in for the glory of God. We have the same God DNA in us as they did. We just need to believe and step forward. It’s time to go ALL IN!
