‘The characteristics of
individuality are independence and self-will. We hinder our spiritual growth
more than any other way by continually asserting our individuality. If you say,
“I can’t believe,” it is because your individuality is blocking the way;
individuality can never believe. But our spirit cannot help believing. Watch
yourself closely when the Spirit of God is at work in you. He pushes you to the
limits of your individuality where a choice must be made. The choice is either
to say, “I will not surrender,” or to surrender, breaking the hard shell of
individuality, which allows the spiritual life to emerge. The Holy Spirit
narrows it down every time to one thing (see Matthew 5:23-24).
It is your individuality that refuses to “be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:24).
God wants to bring you into union with
Himself, but unless you are willing to give up your right to yourself, He
cannot. “. . . let him deny himself . . .”— deny his independent right to
himself. Then the real life-the spiritual life-is allowed the opportunity to
grow.’ CHAMBERS
Denying the right to yourself is a most difficult
step in our new life. It is a reflection of the measure of trust that we have
in God. Some might argue that looking
out for your best interest is a survival instinct in us. That we want to preserve ourselves. It’s only natural. And that is true, it is
natural .. but, as Christians, we live a life that is super-natural. Self-reliance is the bane of the Christian
life. Self-reliance takes many forms but
the result is always the same .. we reject God and trust in ourselves. How do we reject God? We accumulate things to pad our existence and
make our lives physically more comfortable … we accommodate the culture to avoid
conflict and make our lives relationally for tolerable …and we avoid the spiritual to make our lives less
convicting.
But God said … not to accumulate, not to accommodate,
and not to avoid but to lay your treasures up in heaven, to separate yourself from
the patterns of this world, and to draw near to Him, not quenching the Spirit
in us. True independence … is not doing
things our way … but finding freedom in Christ.
John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be
free indeed.”
Matthew
16:24-26 “Then Jesus
said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me. For
whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for
me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world,
yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
Losing your life to find it or save it makes no
sense to the natural man. It is
counter-intuitive. That is because it is
spiritual truth .. it requires faith .. and the power of God’s Spirit to
embrace it.
1
Corinthians 2:13-14 “This
is what we speak, not in words taught us
by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual
realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does
not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them
foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through
the Spirit.”
Every day presents a challenge to your faith. It means that every day you must lay your
life down at the foot of the cross … and look to the Son.
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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