Less Of Me, More Of Him (Part 4)

There are several verses about letting God take over our lives instead of relying on ourselves. Look at Galatians 2:20. It says, “ 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.” In Luke 9:23, we see it has to be done 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.” And in Romans 6:11 we see, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And yet another verse from Galatians, in chapter 5 verse 24 it says, “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

In everything that happens to us in life, whether good or bad, we need to ask ourselves how God can be glorified in it. Good can come from any situation, but we need to cooperate with Him through our hardships to see what good He has in mind. That will mean putting ourselves and our self-pity aside, even if we think we deserve to wallow in it, because the result will not only raise us up but help others to see God in and through us.

Think of Paul saying when he was weak, then he was strong (2 Corinthians 12:10, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”). I’m sure he didn’t pray to be weak. Physical strength is an illusion, and it can get in the way of maturing as a Christian, or even becoming a Christian. It is hard for a strong, confident, independent person to feel the need for God. Many times God will take away a person’s strength so they have to look to Him for help. It is very painful, emotionally as well as physically, but sometimes it is the only way He can get their attention.

Hopefully you have made the decision to turn your life over to Christ. But that journey doesn’t end when your decision is made. It is a narrow path you have to follow to the very end. It’s not going to be easy, and God never promises it will be. Every day God is working on us to make us more like Christ, and boy can it be a tough process! Sometimes we are so reluctant and go with Jesus kicking and screaming the whole way. But He wants us to be an exact replica of Him on this earth. Someone that people can look at and actually see the light of Jesus through us. Most of us are like broken vessels. The Potter has formed us, but we feel broken because we are ill or in chronic pain. But because we are broken vessels, God’s light can shine through the cracks of our brokenness. People can see that light more readily than a vessel that is intact.