I looked up one day as I sat at the desk of a virtuous woman who impacted my life. These were the words written on a paper hanging directly in front of her desk:
Dying To Self
"When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught,
and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight
but are happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ.
That is dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed,
your advice disregarded, your opinion ridiculed, and
you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself,
but take it all in patient loving silence,
That is dying to self.
When you are content with any food, any offering,
any raiment, any climate, any society, and solitude,
and interruption by the will of God,
That is dying to self.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation,
or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation,
when you can truly love to be unknown,
That is dying to self.
When you see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and
honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God,
while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances,
That is dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature
than yourself, humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly,
finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart,"
That is dying to self.
I have often thought about this godly woman and the fact that she must have needed that daily reminder of what it means to die to self.
I need that
daily reminder too!
I don’t feel worthy to write about dying to self because I still struggle with it most of the time. I’m having to “die to self” to even write about dying to self! : )
I spent many years of my life in bondage to the stronghold of addiction, searching for the magic answer to all my problems—through manmade solutions—but never finding it, I gave up.
Finally, I came to know the Truth that makes me free—and that Truth is Jesus.
This beautiful life I now have because of Jesus and what He has done — holds so many contradictions to what the world teaches.
This post is about one of those contradictions:
Dying in order to really live.
“He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
Our True Identity is in Christ:
“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
The Christian—living according to Biblical principles—will discover many contradictions to the world’s teachings…
We’ve all heard it said, “Believe in yourself.” But as good as that sounds—what we really need is to believe in Jesus and what He can do in and through us.
The answer to low self-esteem is not higher self-esteem—it’s no self-esteem, i.e. Dying to Self.
Our esteem
becomes centered
in our King.
The moment we make up our minds that we are going on with this determination to exalt God over all, we step out of the world’s parade. –A. W. Tozer
Our True Hope is in Christ:
If our hope is found in finding ways to improve self, we will never be satisfied...
“Jesus didn’t come to change my life—He came to exchange my life.” –Bro. Steve Curington, Founder of Reformers Unanimous.
There is a real futility in trying to improve the flesh because there is no good thing in it…
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”
It’s when we accept our complete need for Jesus—that we find hope and healing, in and through Him.
How completely
satisfying
to turn from
our limitations
to a God
who has none.”
– A.W. Tozer
While overcoming addiction has been a complete and final deliverance —there are other sins that the Lord is still working in me to overcome.
The Christian life
is a continual process
of sanctification
and that process
requires us to
“die daily”…
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
”
Salvation is the beginning—God continues His work in us as we die to self and yield to the Holy Spirit.
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Thank you for taking time to read this post! I hope sharing what the Lord is trying to teach me has encouraged you too.
