A Right Response

Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. Matthew 16:24 (New American Standard Bible)

Feeling like I have lost control of a number of areas in my life can often cause me to go into a default mode in my thinking and behavior. This morning found me wondering how to get back on track with my life without taking the usual routes. Fearful of failing I often want to back away from anything that would challenge me or expose my imperfections. So in the midst of such thinking I asked God to help me begin to break the cycle of destructive thought patterns and conduct. To do something besides spiral into a pit and pull away from this week’s activities. He brought today’s verse to mind and then He honed in on one phrase within this verse…..”he must deny himself.”

At first glance it meant to tell myself no. When I want to eat in an unhealthy and unbalanced way I must say no. When I want to dwell on negative, condemning thoughts I must say no. When I want to stay to myself and avoid others I must say no. When I want to procrastinate on cleaning my house or balancing my checkbook I must say no. When I want to make someone besides God my primary source I must say no. When I want to spiral into a dark pit I must say no. When I want to do anything that would hinder or halt my spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, or social growth I must say no. Then finding the opposite of all those temptations is what I must say yes to.

I knew saying no was part of denying myself but I needed a bigger picture. A more profound definition to grab a hold of. A tool I often use to find the original meaning of a word is www.studylight.org. What I found there for the word deny is the very step I need to take and that I need to continue to take throughout today and into all of my tomorrows. Simply put, deny means “to forget one's self, lose sight of one's self and one's own interests.” In other words, get my eyes off myself and begin living outside of my default modes.

I will be the first to admit, this is a stretch for me. I am so use to dissecting my life, feelings, and thoughts until I am consumed by them. The end result is never peace but rather discord and confusion. It is no mistake that God chose to put denying oneself before taking up ones cross and following Him. It shows me where to start and which direction I am to head.

Father, at a time when I want to say yes to all that would be wrong for me, help me to say no and move forward in the direction You desire for me. With each no my voice will get louder and stronger. I trust You to increase the volume. Amen.

With All I Am - Hillsong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMrAafe7Mns

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.