How to ‘have it all’

Many of you will have heard the following lyrics… (Apologies to those who will now sing this song all day)

I want it all
I want it all
I want it all
And I want it now.
(insert power chord here)

It could well be the anthem of the modern generation! We want it all, and we want it now. And sometimes, just sometimes, it seems we might even get it – get just enough stuff to make us happy, to make us complete.

If we are honest with ourselves however, we know we aren’t ever going to get ‘it all’. We rarely ever get all we want (even when we think we are being modest), many don’t even get what they seem to need.

But in this, our perspective is worldly. We are usually focused on ‘things’ – stuff to fill our pockets, cars and houses (all more stuff) with. But life is more than stuff! So much more than stuff, if we can just get our minds over what the marketing companies want us to have and back onto God.

2 Peter 1:3 (HCSB)
His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.

There is one thing that we have been given all we need in. The ability to live a godly, holy life. Maybe not everything we want, or even everything we think we need. But everything we need is provided.

How?

Firstly, it is provided by God. ‘His divine power has given’ – this is not something of our effort, something created and sustained by our will or desire, but rather a gift from God to those He has called to live a holy life (that is you, Christian).

Secondly, it is ‘through the knowledge of Him’. It is in knowing God, in knowing Jesus, that what we need is given to us. Whilst it is provided by God, and not of our own effort, we are still called to take action in knowing God, who He is, and what He has done for us.

What can we take away then?

We are never going to have ‘it all’. The world spends its energy creating things for us to desire, things for us to lust over. The focus is taken off God and what He has done, to the next new thing, the next desire, the next iPhone, even the next worship CD or Biblical conference. Everything becomes about ‘having’ and ‘doing’ – as long as our focus is off knowing God, our adversary is appeased, even happy.

So instead of chasing after all of these things, go to what you know you can have – everything required for life and godliness. Get to know God better. Read His word, spend time in prayer, spend time in fellowship with other Christians, who rather than chasing the next speaker or conference, spend their time desiring to know God. Take your mind of ‘I want it all’, and move to ‘God, give me what I need’.

It won’t be easy, but the change in your life will be startling, and then you will realize that you truly have it all.