Tonight at small group we watched Lisa Chan’s video about Luke 9:23-24. I was first struck by this verse in Luke during my time with YWAM (see previous post Discipleship). When I read these verses, I am overcome with a strong desire to follow them. I wish that I were able to daily deny myself, take up the cross, and follow God.
Lisa Chan says that denying oneself is a “moment by moment” decision. In every moment of the day we can choose to be selfish or choose to be selfless. I can think of many examples of both:
Selfish—choosing to walk to the front of the line for lunch because I am so hungry, saving my money instead of tithing 10%, speeding up to pass someone on the highway or expect someone to let me in after cruising down the exit lane…
Selfless—allowing a little kid to climb all over you or sit way to close to you at the end of a long day, allowing a student to talk about their interests when you don’t care about the new Lego characters coming out, giving money to a student for lunch, allowing yourself to be uncomfortable or annoyed for a few minutes instead of shaming a kid…
These are all little examples of decisions that I make daily. What if we started to recognize moments where we could deny ourselves and do a little more for someone else?
Two words that God has really been revealing to me lately are love and service. I pray that I have opportunities to walk in love and serve others on my trip. I’m sure I will get many opportunities to do so, and often successfully love and serve those around me. But what about the people I don’t like, or the people who hurt me, or the people who embarrass me? Can I get over myself and love and serve those people? I hope to learn how to love more, serve more, and become the woman God intended me to be.
Lisa Chan gives an example of a little moment where she denied herself. She was planning on giving a small gift to a woman she mentored. She put together a little something but ran back into the house to get her keys. Next to her keys sat her brand new sweatshirt she had gotten with her birthday money. Something inside her told her to give the sweatshirt to the woman. She wrestled with the thought and said, “But it’s my sweatshirt. I got it with my birthday money.” She reluctantly picked it up and brought it in her car not knowing if she would actually give it to the woman. Begrudgingly, she gave the sweatshirt to the woman and the woman said, “How did you know? This sweatshirt is from my favorite school and is my favorite color.”
I can think of many examples where I had a little nudge to give money to a friend, give my coffee to the toll both Lady, talk to a stranger, or other little things. What if I actually acted on those nudges? How much more fulfilling would my life be if I followed through with the opportunities that God gives me daily to bless others.
My goal this week is to listen to that little voice in my head. I will try my best to act on and follow the little nudges throughout the week. Let’s see what opportunities God brings me this week. 🙂
