Come As You Are

The guilt was heavy. The voices in my head cried over and over, “Hypocrite! Hypocrite!”

I had been struggling. I felt like I couldn’t win. I felt like, no matter how hard I fought, I always lost. I felt like I couldn’t get a grip on my emotions.

The worst thing?

I didn’t want to kill my sin.

I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want to win.

It just felt so good.

As I’ve said before, all the practical tips in the world don’t help unless you have a heart to fight. I kept thinking, “I’ll get a handle on my emotions and then I’ll come to God and He can do the rest.” I had concluded that I should come to God as soon as I decided I didn’t want to continue this way.

Do you see the problem with this? After days…weeks…months, I made a discovery when we sang this song in church.

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.

I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms.

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh.

Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.

Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.

Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy, Joseph Hart

The whole song stood out to me, but I emphasized the lines that particularly slammed me in the face. And then it made me think of the song, Come As You Are.

Come out of sadness
From wherever you've been
Come broken hearted
Let rescue begin
Come find your mercy
Oh sinner come kneel
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can't heal

So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You're not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are

There's hope for the hopeless
And all those who've strayed
Come sit at the table
Come taste the grace
There's rest for the weary
Rest that endures
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can't cure

There's joy for the morning
Oh sinner be still
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can't heal

Come as You Are, David Crowder

It was one of those "Oooooh" moments. One of those moments that, despite how weak and powerless I felt, I just needed to come to Jesus. 

I got to spend about an hour in my Bible and in prayer the next afternoon and I'll tell you that it was sooooooooooo refreshing. I want Jesus to always be first place in my life. Nothing is worth more than Jesus. God created us to be fully satisfied in Him and anything less will let us down.

Ladies, we can’t wait until we think we have it sorted out. We have to come now. We have to come and surrender to Jesus everything—even if we don’t want to.

God is faithful, even when I'm not. He loves me with an everlasting, unchanging love that will not waver despite my wayward heart. One of my friends said something on this topic that has stuck with me. He said that God's love for us isn't based on us, but Him. God loves us because it is His nature to love. God loves us because He is love (which doesn't make sense to us). That gives me so much comfort when I sin and when I run from God. I know that His love for me won't change because it's not based on me.

Don't we serve an incredible God? Some days, I'm just blown away by who He is and what He's done for me--and I don't even fully understand everything! In fact, I can barely scratch the surface of the vast ocean of God's love. 

So remember, come as you are. Whatever you’re struggling with. No matter how weak you feel. No matter if you think you have the solution or not. Don’t wait until you think you have it under control. Don’t wait until you think you’ve got a handle on things. Come now. Come as you are. Broken, sinful, and empty.

If we wait, we will never come. So we must come to God now and ask Him to help us through our struggles.

Come as you are.