I've Tried Everything!

There’s that place I want to get to, whenever I face a problem, where I can stop, throw my hands in the air, and say, “I’ve tried everything!” And then I can sit back, relax, and let someone else shoulder the burden of resolving the issue, or I can just dismiss the issue completely as if it were completely unresolvable. It’s a nice, smug feeling to be able to say, “I’ve tried everything. My hands are tied. I’ve done all I can do.” But the older I get and the more trips around the block I have taken, I’m finding that rarely do I or others actually TRY everything to resolve an issue. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat knee to knee with a husband and wife who are looking at the broken pieces of their marriage. One of them is done. And I hear them say, “I’ve tried everything. It’s just not working. There’s nothing more to do.” And 9 times out of 10, I can make a quick list of a half dozen things to try that they have absolutely NOT tried: professional counseling usually being at the top of the list. I was meeting regularly with another young man who questioned the existence of God, the legitimacy of Christ, and the truthfulness of the Bible. My response was to challenge him to ask all the questions he wants as long as he does his homework and pursues TRUTH! I firmly believe if anyone pursues truth with sincere tenacity, they will find it, and it will park them squarely at the foot of the cross, staring into the life-changing face of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just ask former skeptics and atheists Lee Strobel and Josh McDowell. However, this young man wasn’t much into doing research. I don’t much dismiss a movie with high rotten tomato ratings as a bad movie unless I watch it first. I certainly wouldn’t dismiss something that is purported to be the difference between eternal life and eternal death without first doing the research. And yet so many dismiss the Bible as fiction, having read almost none of it. This young man had read almost none of the Bible, and yet was comfortable dismissing it as a fairy tale. When those folks’ eyes slowly dim on this earth and then awaken on the other side of eternity, will they dare utter the words, “I tried everything?” I guess I’ve been thinking about this here lately because of the new year. We often make resolutions at the beginning of a new year, trying to become healthier, seeking to do things to make our families better, or perhaps even trying to grow more spiritually. And so many times we fizzle out in a month or two and find ourselves as resolution-less as we were on Dec. 31. Hey, I know all about this. I paid for 3 months’ worth of Snap Fitness membership once. And after only going there an average of once per month, I canceled that membership. But certainly I wouldn’t come to the end of the year, look at my small biceps in the mirror, and say, “I don’t know what happened! I tried everything, and I still have no muscles.” Yet we often do this with our lives. We wonder why there is not more joy. We wonder why there is not more peace. We wonder why there seems to be little direction or purpose. And the easy way out would be to throw up our hands and say… well… you get the picture. Jesus once encountered a wealthy, young, Jewish ruler who approached him and asked the question of all questions, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18). Jesus listed some of the Ten Commandments for him to keep, and the man replied, “I have kept all these from my youth!” (Luke 18:21). In essence, I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING! Now read what Jesus said next in verses 22 and 23: “When Jesus heard this, He told him, ‘You still lack one thing: Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.’ After he heard this, he became extremely sad, because he was very rich.” He hadn’t tried one thing: giving everything to Jesus! It’s a paradoxical truth that has confounded so many, yet liberated and transformed many as well: if you want to save your life, then lose it (Luke 9:23-26). Lose it by giving it completely over to Jesus. Are you experiencing an abundant life? If not, have you tried Jesus? He IS everything! Yes! He is EVERYTHING!