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I Count It All Gain

Ecclesiastes 3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away. 

Things in this life are only temporary. It is all vanity. 
Sometimes we hold on so tight to something because it feels like it is our everything. It seems like we question, what will I be if I let go of this?

We grow immensely attached to things so easily. Earthly possessions, people, animals, money, ideas, everything under the sun. It is almost sickening some of the things people grow so attached to. I'm not judging, I am one of them. Probably why I feel so uneasy about it. 

At church, we have been going through a lesson on suffering. We can either suffer for earthly things or suffer in Christ. 

                                                                                             
Right now, I am suffering in Christ. God calls us sometimes to let go of these items we hold so dearly. We do not always see the bigger picture. Which for me, makes it so much harder. While going through this process, I cannot help but to think about a picture I saw a while ago.          
A little girl has a teddy bear. Jesus is asking her to let it go, but
she does not want to. Jesus has a bigger bear behind His back. 
She does not know what Jesus has in store. She thinks that if 
she lets go she will be empty handed. 
But that is never the case with our God. 

It is so not easy to say, Here Lord. There are usually many emotional ties we have with the bear. Maybe our grandma gave it to us. Maybe we have had it every night since we were a baby. Maybe our best friend has one just like it. Maybe it is the only toy we have ever really owned. 

When God asked me to give up a relationship, I really struggled to do so. We put a lot of time into this relationship. We were close friends. It seemed like we needed each other. Just so many things leading me to disobey the Lord. When I finally listened, it really hurt, despite everything that was wrong in this relationship, I was extremely sad. I know why God asked me to give it up, but that does not make it any easier. 

I considered this relationship my life. It was taking God's place in my life. It had become my life. 

Matthew 16:24 If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up my cross, and follow me. If you try to hang onto your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul? Is anything worth more than your soul??

                                                         Holding onto that relationship so tight, was keeping me 
from catching God's blessing. What I thought was 
helping me, was truly hurting me. My hand was so 
tight around it, it was painful. I could not hold on 
anymore and try to hold onto God at the same time.   

What are we going to gain from letting go. In that moment, it feels
like we are losing EVERYTHING. Not just one thing, but everything. That is probably why it was so important to let go. 

I had to ask myself what damage am I causing by holding onto this.
Is anyone going to benefit from me holding on? Is God able to move into this situation? If we are holding on so tightly, can we grasp God when He comes in? What blessings are we not going to be able to catch because our hands are so tight on something else?

Philippians 3:8 (NKJV) Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. 

Even in the middle of lose, we can count it gain. 

I just want to encourage you today, do not ignore God because of the things that seem to be your everything. God wants to be your everything, He wants to have you hold on to Him ever so tightly, nothing else. When we do it for Christ, we can count it a gain. Despite how bad it hurts, how painful it is, how unbelievably deep of wound it leaves.   
                   

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