Don’t just give the good parts of yourself to God

Reflecting on Acts 13–22, I was reminded of two important things: the heart and the history of Paul. Let me share how these two are connected.

It all begins with God’s desire for our heart. He doesn’t ask for our leg, hand, or eye He asks for the source of who we are. Without the heart, there is no “you.” This means God doesn’t want just parts of us our behavior, character, or only the “good” side. No, He wants it all: the good and the bad, the best and the worst, the lazy and the hardworking. Too often, we try to hand Him only our good parts while attempting to fix the bad on our own. I know I do that offering Him my achievements, my brave moments but this isn’t how His Kingdom works.

Proverbs 23:26 says:

“O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.”

God asks for our heart. And the heart is mysterious only God truly knows it. Lately, almost every time I open my Bible, I hear the same message: “heart.” God’s relationship with us is tied to the heart because it is the wellspring of everything.

Now let’s look at Paul. Whenever I read about him, I think of this passage:

Acts 9:15–16

> “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

Here, the Lord speaks to Ananias, who was hesitant to go to Paul because of his reputation. It’s almost humorous Ananias trying to explain Paul’s past to the very God who wrote it! Like explaining movie to the director, But God already knew exactly what He was going to do with Paul.

And here’s the point: God wanted all of Paul, just as He wants all of us. Even before Paul accepted Christ, his actions like persecuting Christians ended up pushing the church to spread the gospel worldwide. Nothing in Paul’s life was wasted.

The same was true for David. In Acts 13:22 we read:

“I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.”

David made mistakes, but he also walked in God’s favor. Both Paul and David are reminders that God uses all of who we are our background, our strengths, our failures, even our weaknesses for His Kingdom.

So what about us? Why do we try to present only the “best” parts to God? He doesn’t waste anything not our training, our history, our gifts, or our struggles. But we will never know what He can truly do through us until we surrender all that we are to Him.

Prayer Lord, help us to give You all of ourselves, not just parts. Teach us to surrender completely our hearts, our thoughts, our strengths, and our weaknesses. Use our backgrounds, our training, and even our brokenness for the sake of Your Kingdom. Holy Spirit, guide us to walk in Your ways, fix our eyes on You alone, and let everything in us reflect You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.