Devote yourself

Yesterday as I was doing my Bible reading, this verse really stuck out to me.

Job 11:13-15 says, "Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear." Holy cow! When I read that, I was like, "Wow, that is amazing. And so what I needed to hear" This morning I decided to look it up in other versions, the Message version goes like this, "Still, if you set your heart on God and reach out to him, if you scrub your hands of sin and refuse to entertain evil in your home, you'll be able to face the world unashamed and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless."

The first part that says "...if you devote your heart to him..." or the other one that says, "...if you set your heart on God..." I love to look up meanings of words and words that are like them. To devote to something means to give or apply (one's time, attention, or self) entirely to a particular activity, pursuit, cause, or person. Devote can also mean to dedicate to something. People may dedicate or devote themselves to many things. In my case, when I devote myself to something, it's something that I want more of in my life, something that will make my life more fulfilling. I also think if you devote yourself to something, it's something you truly believe in, fully support. For example, I devote my time to Children's Ministry at church. They are the ministry that gets my time. I love teaching children about Jesus, because once they understand what He did, it's the most priceless thing. Or tutoring the Wade kids in Spanish every week, I dedicate my time to them for free. I wouldn't give free lessons to anyone else, but them I do because I love those kids and I know they all want to know more about Spanish.

Lately, I've really been working on focusing my head, but mostly my heart completely and fully on God. It's hard, there are so many distractions coming at me. I had gotten out of the daily routine of spending time with Him due to so many things coming at me all at once. But recently, started back up. Each time I sit down, turn off all distractions and focus solely on His word, on what He's trying to tell me, I've had my socks rocked off every time. Like this verse at the top, devote your heart to Him. That is something I want in my life, something that will fulfill me more than anything else I need...more of Him, less of me. Writing this post, reminds me of the song "Enough" from Chris Tomlin. That song always has a special place in my heart, it was playing when I was baptized. Gosh, I love that song, no matter how many times I hear it, I never get sick of it. And the lyrics are so true.

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You are my supply
My breath of life
And still more awesome than I know
You are my reward
worth living for
And still more awesome than I know

All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You’re my sacrifice
Of greatest price
And still more awesome than I know
You’re the coming King
You are everything
And still more awesome than I know

More than all I want
More than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know
More than all I can say
You are more than enough for me