Fully Following God

“Don’t go too far!” we have often heard people say. Some feel it is sufficient to be a Sunday morning follower of Christ. For others – Christmas and Easter is good enough. We might give, but not joyfully. We might serve, but not sacrificially. We feel that we can follow Christ “from afar” as Peter did while Christ was being crucified (though Peter later repented of this).

'Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.' Numbers 32.11-12

How far are we willing to go in following God? How far should we go when it comes to following the Lord Jesus? “After all isn’t this my life? I know God gave it to me and redeemed me, but doesn’t it belong to me? Surely, he would not expect me to give up anything to follow him.” (see Luke 9.23)

No, the body and spirit which God has given us is not our possession. They belong to him.

 …do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6.19-20)

What if we were to wholly follow the Lord. What might God do? For Joshua and Caleb, they were allowed to go into the land God had promised to their fathers – just two out of thousands and thousands. Those who did not completely follow God were not allowed to go in.

If we only half-heartedly follow God, what blessings might we miss? If we follow him fully, what great things would he do in our lives?

Following God completely means:

1.     Trusting him completely. Caleb and Joshua believed God would bring them into the land of promise and saw the land’s positive attributes when others saw the negative. They could see this because of what God had told them.

2.     Being willing to be different. They stood out like a sore thumb but stayed committed to what God was doing in their lives.

3.     Giving him not just a portion of our time, talents, thoughts and resources but ALL of them.

Ask yourself; “What would my life look like if I fully followed God?” and “Am I willing to do it?” God only knows what blessings are in store for those who do.