Full Tilt Commitment

Studying commitment and loyalty this week I was especially struck by a verse I read on Friday, "[He] who keeps his oath even when it hurts...he who does these things will never be shaken" - Psalm 15:4-5 To me it was a cool reminder that all out commitment to Christ will at some point mean that keeping that promise we've made to Him will hurt, and like Wednesday's devo said, the pressure will be great. God's call reacquires us to be put in situations beyond our control, where we are way over our heads, and that far exceed our ability so that the only possible security and reliance we have is Him. The only explanation for victory is Him.

Everyday we've been praying, "I pray that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened so that I may know what is the hope of your calling, what are the riches of the glory of your inheritance and what is the surpassing greatness of your power towards us who believe" I believe that the eyes of our hearts are open to know and understand these things when we have been led into battle, when we have had to cling to the cross, allow those nails, those real and tangible nails, to be driven into us spiritually, emotionally, and physically, and most often when we have upheld our commitment to the Lord when it hurts most. I believe we see and understand these things when we have had to fight for His hope, His glory, His inheritance, and His power, when we have been forced to hope in nothing else than Him. His call is so radical, so all or nothing, that when we decide to jump in, pour ourselves out, give everything, we get more than everything. Our God is a powerful, mighty, awe inspiring, dangerous, risky, adventurous God, as such He will never call us to a meek, mild, safe, boring, contentment of a life, that is not His call, that is not His character. His call is powerful, mighty, awe inspiring, dangerous, risky, and adventurous and requires every piece of our being.

Full tilt commitment is not a decision to fully commit to God as each pivotal situation arises, its purposing in my heart to commit fully to God before the actual action has to take place, so when the situation arises I will already be in that posture, I will already be committed. So that the actions Christ requires, the decisions He asks us to make, will merely be the natural following of my heart which is already so safely sealed in Him, so hidden in His love. A natural response to His complete commitment to me.

If we purpose in our hearts to fully commit to Christ then when a camper asks to talk to us, we are already listening, when a fellow staff is discouraged, we are already encouraging, when a kid who is in need of love steps onto the boat, we are already loving. We are not surprised by the extremes to which Christ calls us to or how far He asks us to go, because our hearts are already there.