Taking it all

As I was driving home from church today, I was listening to Third Day and had a real insight into my relationship with Christ.  I was listening to "Give" off of the album Time.
"You said all that follow You may find /
Comfort and pain, blessings in hard times / 
Were I to leave, where else would I go? /
The words of life and of truth You hold //

All I want is love /
I confess to this /
I will take it, Lord /
All You have to give //

how great the love lavished on us all /
that we can be the children of God"

What really struck me was the true impact of the song.  It's not saying I will take the good parts; it's saying that I will take it all.  God promises to be there in every situation.  He promises that we will find "comfort and pain, blessings in hard times."  The pain and hard times really hit me hard as the last few months have seen pain and hard times for me.  But if I am really a believer and if I really trust God, then I must take it all.  The good times will be there, but so will the bad and being a true believer means taking the good with the bad.  There is no "good times only" option with God.  If I am going to take this God thing, then I have to take everything He is going to give me.  The great thing is He promises to be there for everything good and bad. Yes, things have been hard recently, but GOD is there, HE is with me in the hard times, HE will see me through.  If only I will give up myself and let God do His thing, if only I will accept everything He has to give me, if only I will surrender completely; then He will provide all that I need.

This revelation also coincides nicely with the sermon our pastor preached this morning. He preached on the story of Zacchaeus and how Jesus, without ever meeting him, called him by name. Christ knows each and everyone of us by name.; If He knows me by name, then He knows where I am at and what I need. If He knows me by name, then who am I to doubt him - even in the darkest of times. So wonderfully reassuring today to hear that message and reflect on what being a Christian really means.