A week before training camp in 2017, the Carolina Panthers fired Dave Gettleman as their general manager. This was not ideal timing and put the team in a tough spot.
The Panthers ended up calling their previous GM, Marty Hurney, to help out. At the time, they gave him the label “interim” because he was coming to the rescue as a temporary, short-term, fill-in GM.
Being in a desperate situation, they knew they could rely on him to fill the void in the upcoming the season, and could later determine their permanent replacement.
As time went on, Hurney proved to be capable of leading the team in this position, and the Panthers removed the “interim” tag by handing over the reigns this week. He can now make decisions without feeling like he’s just temporarily in charge.
Although hard to admit, many of us need to remove the “interim” tag we’ve placed on God. We may call on Him when we’re desperate and want Him to rescue us from a tough spot, but we haven’t given Him full control of our lives.
We know He’s reliable enough to trust with certain things, but we haven’t completely handed over the reigns and invited Him to permanently fill the void in our hearts.
Too often we only follow Him temporarily or on an “interim” basis, instead of totally committing to Him without any reservation or hesitation.
These two verses emphasize the “all” and “always” that reflect a surrendered life:
Deuteronomy 11:1 (ESV) says, “You shall, therefore, love the Lord your God and keep His charge, His statutes, His rules, and His commandments always.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 (AMP) tells us, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being].”
So today, instead of temporarily loving God and sometimes following Him on an “interim” basis, let’s go all-in and give Him full control of every part of our lives.
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please help me not only pursue and rely on You during desperate times but follow You always. I want to give you control of every area of my life and be totally surrendered. Please give me the strength to do so. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
