When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:34-35 NKJV)
Our first week in Bolivia our contact gave us a little sermon on dying to ourselves. His words were pretty harsh, but he was straight to the point. I don’t think any of us will forget him saying, “The only good missionary is a dead missionary. I hope you’re all ready to go home in a body bag.”
The act of denying yourself isn’t a new concept, especially for those of us who have spent pretty much our whole lives in church. We are called to die to ourselves daily. But how often to we make denying ourselves about ourselves?
I listened to a podcast by Judah Smith this morning titled, “Denying Myself”. I found it timely, because this has been one of my goals for this year, but it’s also a concept that I’ve struggled with for years.
One of the main things that was pointed out in this sermon is the truth that we’ve somehow come up with the idea that it’s about us. ” The more we deny ourselves by ourselves it becomes about ourselves.” In reality the only real way to deny yourself is to become preoccupied and consumed by someone other than yourself.
Losing your life is about so much more than waking up every morning and telling God He can have your life. It’s about becoming so overwhelmingly consumed with His power and presence that you forget about what you want. Your desires become His desires, because all you want is His will.
Sometimes Christianity seems complicated and hard, when in reality all God wants is for us to fall head-over-heels in love with Him and let Him do the rest. We can make it about rules and regulations or we can fall in love with our Creator King and let Him transform us from the inside out. When you’re passionately in love with God, it’s easy to deny yourself.
Following Christ is so much more fulfilling when we make it about Christ, rather than making it about ourselves. Putting Him at the center makes all the difference in the world. I’m praying that going home in a body bag isn’t something that I need to worry about and the thought still scares me, but God has a plan and I’m trusting that everything will be just fine.
God is teaching me so much and I am continually in awe of His grace and love.
This month team R.O.A.R. is traveling around Ecuador for Unsung Hero’s, looking for new ministries for AIM to partner with. It’s been a crazy month, but we’ve had the opportunity to meet with multiple different churches and organizations. Please be in prayer for us that God would continue to provide as we follow His voice in looking for the next place to go.
As always, please prayerfully consider making a 1 time donation or partnering with me in monthly sponsorship. I need all the help I can get in order to complete the full 11 months of this crazy journey!
God Bless,
Rachel
