Standing at the Threshold is Not Enough.

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won’t be able." - Luke 13:24

This morning, I feel like God laid a beautiful and heavy conviction on my heart that I want to share with you: Standing at the threshold is not enough.

Say what? Exactly! Stick with me...

To give you a quick context, I felt strongly led to create the Christian Youth Network over two years ago. My actual surrender to this calling has been a, well, rough one. God has revealed to me two very specific pieces of my heart that I have yet to trust Him with... even though I truly thought I had. First is my marriage, and the second is my eating disorder.

Truth be told, I have done all the "right" things to heal both. For my marriage, my husband and I have been in couples therapy, had Christian counseling sessions with a pastor, taken an intensive "Re-Engage" program through our local church, and yes... much prayer. For my eating disorder, I have been hospitalized, checked into recovery programs and centers, worked with countless dietitians, and been in therapy off-and-on for over 20 years.

It wasn't until this past year that the Spirit of God forced me to acknowledge that in both instances, I have not given that part of my life over to Him.

Check it out: the only thing that sets true believers apart from non-believers is that they believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died in our place on the cross so that we could once again have an intimate relationship with God.

I am sure you have heard someone (maybe even yourself) say, "Jesus is my Lord and Savior!" But here's the thing, it is quite easy for us all to accept God's free gift of grace through accepting Jesus as our Savior... but it is quite another thing for us to both trust and allow Him to be LORD over every single part of our lives.

But here's the thing, it is quite easy for us all to accept God's free gift of grace through accepting Jesus as our Savior... but it is quite another thing for us to both trust and allow Him to be LORD over every single part of our lives.

Think about it. Accepting any gift is easy and even exciting! However, trusting that gift to do a better job with your life than you can is absolutely terrifying.

So here I am, leading an online ministry, being active in my local church and community, counseling others through their faith journeys, speaking to crowds about Jesus at various events... yet all the while, I was only trusting God with the things in my life that were superficial at best.

Jesus made it quite clear in Luke 13:24 that the only way to experience the kingdom of God is, in fact, through a "narrow door."

Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won’t be able. -Luke 13:24

In fact, in Matthew 7:13, Jesus states that the only other door available to us is the door leading to hell (aka: eternal separation from God), and that door is "wide and the road broad... and there are many who go through it." He juxtaposes this with stating in v. 14, "How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it."

“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it." -Matthew 7:13-14

Through these verses, I believe the LORD made clear to me this morning that I have not trusted Him to fully step through the door that Jesus died to open for me and for you.

In Hebrews 11:1, Paul makes this statement about what true faith really is: "Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]." (AMP).

Did you catch that? True faith requires that we abandon what our fleshy and worldy senses tell us is "real, visible, physcially proven, and fact" and replace it with the Truth of JESUS!

True faith requires that we abandon what our fleshy and worldy senses tell us is "real, visible, physcially proven, and fact" and replace it with the Truth of JESUS!

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So, I encourage you to do the following today:

1. Look at your life through the lens of Luke 13:24 and ask yourself if you have truly walked through the door Jesus opened for you on the cross OR are you merely standing at the threshold.

   
   

2. Ask God to clarify the areas of your life that may be keeping you from fully committing to stepping through that door.

   
   

Then simply "let go and let GOD"!

Peace and love to you on your journey with Christ!

xoxo, Amy