Lately, I’ve been really struggling
with the aspect of self. Namely, I’ve
been struggling with the concept of giving up that “self” for all that Christ has for me. Sound familiar?
We all have
that inner battle: “My Way or God’s Way?”
I could tell you that God’s Way is always better, but I have a feeling
you already know that. If your anything
like me, you’re somewhere between the knowing and consistently doing stage.
It could be
something as small as the choice to put down the phone at the mall and focus on
smiling and greeting those you walk past.
Oftentimes, the greatest struggle of our will is on the internal
level. Here, we’re talking about the
essence of our character. Do we choose
to honor God in business or academics?
Or do we take the shortcuts that we can rationalize as “ok” because
everyone else is doing it?
As I
mentioned, I’ve been struggling with choosing God’s will over my own as
well. I so often want to control things,
barricade myself behind a wall of resolute perfection, but that only draws me
further from the love and joy of the father.
That’s why I have truly taken Galatians 2:20 to heart, which says: “I have been crucified with Christ and it is
no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
And the life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God.”
Wow! Powerful stuff, right? I mean, “crucified” is a pretty strong
word. And it’s there for a reason. I’ve been learning through application that
there is no partial surrender to Christ.
I either go for the full-on bloody crucifixion or I choose myself over
God, my will over his. We need to take a
hatchet to these sinful desires!
The best
place to start is on your knees though—not on the battlefield. We cannot win this war alone. We are not able to simply will ourselves to
wholeness in Christ. While much effort
is required, our effort is in vain if we are focusing on our problem of
selfishness rather than Christ. Focus on
the Father; confess to Him that you can’t do it on your own and need His
help.
I can tell
you from experience that there’s no quick solution to the battle of the fleshly
will, but every time we choose God over us, we are drawing further from that
sin and closer to Him. It isn’t easy,
but it’s a whole lot easier than attempting to break free on our own, only to
collapse in a heap of self-condemnation and failure.
I once
heard it said that God knows the moment that we will commit “that sin” for the
last time. He knows the last time you
will give in to addiction, cheat on a spouse, starve your body, cheat on a
test—He knows the last time you will give in to that habitual sin of the
flesh. So the next time you are faced
with the battled: My Way or God’s Way—whether it’s a habitual sin or
not—picture the creator of the universe smiling over you, because He knows you
are one step closer to being free.
Chances are, this focus on Him and not you, will fuel your desire to
fight against the devil and win one more moment for Christ.
In Him,
A Grateful Life Lived
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