My mind is always filled with snarky comments when someone tells me ta do that. “Give it to God”. That statement is right up there with the, “Let it go”, comment. What a buncha rubbish. Oh thanks for that pro-tip! I’ll just forward my electric bill to God and he can figure out some brilliant way to get it paid. Cause outside of sellin my asshole for nickels on Only Fans I’m at a loss. 

See what I mean? My brain is quick and easy with coming up with witty yet unproductive one liners like that. My level of sarcasm truly has no bounds. Especially when my shit is in a ditch and people offer seemingly caring words that don’t actually have any physical or tangible means of help. I mean, the concept itself ludicrous. HOW does one just give it to God? We just say, “Oh Jesus take the wheel!” and then we sit back and do nothing? What an irresponsible, unbelievable, ridiculous, things to say in the midst of a crisis.

…Or is it?

Struggled with this concept for along time. It’s just the dumbest concept ever. Buncha religious idiots with a false hope of being taken care of by a God that clearly is all about action. Consider the ants bitches!! Did they just sit back and expect God ta do all the work?! No. They did not.

Then I watched a sermon by a pastor by the name of Charles Stanley. Now, you may not know much about that guy, but he is one of the very few pastors I’ll listen to. (I’m incredibly picky when it comes to pastors) He was talking about giving things to God but he didn’t stop there. He said our job after that point was to be obedient. So that was different. Ya mean we don’t just blubber out that we give it to god and then sit on our asses and do nothing? wAiT oN oUr miRaCle! 

No. There’s actually 7 things, according to Dr. Stanley that we should be doing.

#1. Learn to trust Him. Trust is earned. Trust requires effort. It requires work. It’s definitely not an idle thing. You can learn to trust God by actually giving him things to be trustworthy of. You learn to trust him, by giving things to him. So it starts with the giving response. When life throws whatever it throws at you, is your initial response to give it God? Is it to immediately pray about it? No? Then obviously you don’t trust him. So you need to work on that. Your initial response should be to pray. THAT shows trust.

#2. Learn to wait upon the Lord. Waiting sucks. I hate waiting. I mumbled cuss words at the screen when I heard Dr. Stanley say that. Oh sure! I’ll just sit here on my thumbs while God gets around to it. Great! But the attitude of waiting is a thing. Because it is your arrogance that gives you that frustration with God for things not happening fast enough. So you gotta learn to put that shit aside and acknowledge that God knows more than you do. That he has everything under his control and things will happen at the precise moment that they need to happen.

#3. Learn to meditate upon his word. Mediate. So for the dumb ones in the back, that means a bit more than to just read. You’re not just going to read the Bible, you’re going to meditate on it. That takes a bit more work. It takes time. It requires depth. It requires study. No one likes to study. Studying sucks. But it is an action that is required of you! Don’t claim to be dOiNg gOd’s wiLL if you’re not doing that. You gAvE iT tO gOd, and now you have to meditate on his word.

#4 LISTEN to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Now this is key. This is huge. Sometimes that voice comes quiet, sometimes it’s really loud, but if you are actively listening you’ll know when to make that call. You’ll know when to submit those papers. You’ll know the absolute perfect time to scroll through your timeline and read that article. I know this for a fact because it’s happened to me. The exact right moment and the exact right time. A pushing, a sense of urgency, etc. I don’t know how exactly to describe it. What I do know is that I am not naturally an idle person, so when I feel in my soul to stop and wait, to do nothing, I know something is up! So I wait for it. You have to learn to listen. It is the wisdom of the ages that you are tapping into when you do that.

#5. Trust Him and leave all the consequences to Him. Ain’t that great! Gaaaaah! I LOVE this part! When heard Dr. Stanley say this I was like, “YEAH!!!” “It’s on YOU, biotch!!” “Hear that God?!” “I do what I’m supposed ta do and if shit falls apart cause you took your damn sweet time, it’s ALL YOUR FAULT AND YOU CAN SUCK IT!!! YEAH!!!”. And that’s the thing. That’s it. You can wash your hands of it. Good or bad, whatever the results of whatever it is, the responsibility of it is on God’s hands, not yours. The stress literally melts away once you realize this. HOLDING GOD RESPONISBLE FOR HIS PROMISES is absolutely freeing. And God is no slouch when it comes to His promises. You quote it, you do your part, you hold Him to it, and he’ll deliver. Every. Time.

#6. Accept God’s discipline with thanksgiving. How ’bout ya go fuck yerself? How ’bout that? Nah, seriously, with thanksgiving? What kind of happy horseshit is that?! Thankful for instruction. Thankful to have guidance. Thankful to have someone to go to. Thankful to be given clear and concise advice as to what I am doing wrong so that I am not repeating past mistakes. So I am not continually suffering through the same pain based on my same limited wisdom. Ya, I get it. That makes sense. Not bitter or angry about getting disciplined but receiving it with the right heart; with the heart of thankfulness, knowing that it is for our own good. Because be honest, how many of us when we receive discipline wanna say fuck you!? Personally, I’m all about the fuck you. But that’s not correct. I should be grateful that I am being corrected. That the Creator of heaven and earth would take His time to correct someone like me. 

#7. PRAY: God give me the spirit of obedience. Ya this is a tough one. ‘Cause everyone knows that when you ask for something like this God has a way of putting you in situations that will help you learn it. Most of those times are gonna suck. So ya, take this last as you will. But it is #7 of what Dr. Stanley taught. And I think it has more to do with being sincere. Having a sincere heart. Truly looking for a change and expecting the promise of God’s intervention coming to fruition.

So right now, during the Season of Giving, I’d ask that you give your cares, your concerns, your pain, your loss, your anxiety, the things in your life that is robbing you of your peace to Him. Not in some mindless, Pollyanna, sort of way. But in a way that requires your participation. In a way that helps you build the trust you so desperately need to have in your Creator.

Copyright©2023 Jacob C. Larson All Rights Reserved

***I do realize that how I talk at times is not reflective of what is deemed to be “proper” in faith based circles. I understand that many “non-believers” are confused by how I talk as a professed “Christian”. At any rate, while you all are still attempting to figure it out, please know that I meant no disrespect to Dr. Charles Stanley or of his teachings. I believe him to have been a great man and one that I’d definitely hope to aspire to….although I highly doubt I could ever manage that. 

****Nothing ever works out the way we think or expect them to. Our minds often make things bigger than what they are. Why do you suppose that is? Perhaps it is a gentle reminder that we are not in control, were never meant to be in control, and what we actually need to do is tap into that wisdom of the ages by doing exactly what Dr. Stanley suggests?