“The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us. 

A.W .Tozer

And He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 

Luke 9:23

Dearest Believer, 

One of the hardest things to do in the Christian life is giving up control. Before we come to come to Christ, we have the delusion that we are in control of our destinies. That we are actually able to make good enough choices to make us wiser, independent, better people. Enlightened even. That on our own, we can climb up the ladder of success and BE someone. This is a thoughtful tragedy. The Bible clearly states that apart from Christ, we can do nothing. Yet, sometimes, even as believers, we live as though we do. We make our plans and sometimes include God in them. We make decisions without the one Who directs our steps. How grand we make ourselves. Thinking we always know what is best and know what God’s will is for our lives without even consulting Almighty God in prayer in the first place.  We puff up with pride and succumb to our fickle emotions or faulty selfish logic and wonder why things don’t work out or become disappointed with the results. 

Believer, if this is you, what are you holding back from God? Your fear? Your anxiety? Your trust? Your pride? Your impatience? Your ambition? Whatever it is, He can handle it. But you must first humbly come to His feet and lay it down. Maybe you don’t even know what it is. Pray to the Almighty that He reveal your sin against Him. We must deny ourselves, and all that is within us that battles against His Spirit. Not just once, but we must daily take spiritual inventory of our life. We must battle against our flesh in the name of Jesus and make it submissive to Him. 

Like Jacob, sometimes this means struggling and wrestling with God and ourselves. Striving in prayer that God change us, mold us, cleanse us. Striving against all things that distract and hinder us from becoming like Christ. As Paul states in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “…let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence to God’.

Believer, this may be difficult. In fact, if it is not difficult, may it be because your faith is consistently great, or because you are not fighting hard enough to be like our Great One? 

If you are like me, it is difficult to die every day to what I want. To die to what my heart and mind want, when they want it, and how it will look. You and I must trust Him with all that, even through the pain. Give Him your pain. Give Him your tears. Bring all that you are holding on to to the foot of the Cross. Our Lord, became the suffering servant, to the glory of God the Father, so that we could come to him with our burdens, and give us peace. He came to save us, comfort us and carry our burdens. But we need to let go and know whom we have believed and be convinced of His good and perfect will. 

That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. 

2 Timothy 1:12

The Lord be with you,

Bianca