It's a takeover, not a makeover!

Being a Christian is not about "living your best life."  It is not about being your "best self" or becoming the "best version of yourself." 

These are the buzz phrases of our day, our culture.  But they are not our Lord's ways.

The Lord makes it clear in His Word that apart from Him, we have and are nothing, that no good thing dwells in us apart from Him.

So even our "best selves" fall so very short of the glory of God that we must come to the realization that we are lost without Him, that in and of ourselves, we are dead in our sins without Him in our lives.

These words may sound extreme or harsh to you if you have been swallowing the lies of the world (sadly, sometimes coming at you through "preachers" these days, too).

Jesus is not about making us "better" people by our striving, trying, or manufacturing trying to be "good."  

Jesus does not want to merely give us a superficial makeover.  Jesus wants to do a complete takeover! 

You may be thinking, "Hey, wait a minute!  But what happens to me if Jesus takes over?!" 

You may fear that you will disappear in the process, or become someone that you don't want to become.

I'm here to tell you that you do not need to fear becoming a "holy roller."  Most of those types are still trying to manufacture a holy life in their own strength by yelling "Praise the Lord!" the loudest in church while having no intention of letting the real Jesus infiltrate their hearts, minds, and lives.

It takes guts to let Jesus have His way with us.  It is not a natural inclination for us to want anyone to take over in our lives.  

But remember, everything that Jesus does is upside down from the world's ways.

What seems like "control" is actually freeing.  Jesus frees us the more He lives in us.

The more we give up control, the reins of our lives, the freer we are to become all that He created us to be!  Therein lies the paradox of the Christian life.

As the brilliant C.S. Lewis wrote:

"The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become - because He made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. . . It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own."

Unless we choose this path daily, there will always be a tug-of-war inside our spirits and souls - Christ wanting full sway (but never demanding it) versus our own wills trying to usurp His Lordship and power in our lives.  

We know we have not surrendered to Him whenever we feel anxiety and restlessness, stress and turmoil, rather than peace, calm, trust, and that inner calm that He provides.

Letting go and letting God is not a "one and done" deal.  I wish it were!  But alas, it is not.

We fear that if we allow God full sway in us, we will have no backbone of our own and not be allowed to decide for ourselves what is best for us.

But we don't know what is best for us!  Only God is privy to that intel.  And when we allow Him to rule and reign in us, He let's us in on that intel, inasmuch as we can handle it.  

He leads and guides step by step.  We are not supposed to know the future.  And anyone who thinks that they do know the future is grossly deceived.  

Allowing God to take over is unlike any other kind of takeover we can imagine.

When Jesus takes over, we know and have:

peace
joy
contentment
trust
fullness
power
courage
hope
enthusiasm
freedom

Everything we want and are looking for by "being in control" is all found on the other side of surrendering to Christ.

So let us allow Jesus full sway in our lives moment by moment.  Let us acknowledge that only He knows best - and not only knows it, but wants the best for us.  Only He can provide the best for us.  Jesus is what is best for us.  Him taking over is the best thing that could ever happen to us.

Jesus was "taken over" completely by His Heavenly Father and Jesus is the only one who lived the most powerful, giving, joyful, caring, and loving life ever.  At any time, Jesus could have asserted His own will, but He wisely chose the best: His Father's will for Him.

What is our own will?  What is it good for? How can our will be better than Almighty God's will?!

May we want, seek, and know God's will as we let Him take over our hearts, minds, and lives completely.  

Oh Lord.  Trying to get a grasp on these truths can be hard, because we have all read and heard so many contradictory things.  But we can choose to stay grounded in You, Your Word, Your truth instead.  Help us be more influenced by You, dear Lord, than any other influence.  For only in You is true life found and all the fullness therein. In Jesus' Name.  Amen.