Dying to self is one of the hardest things to do. Sometimes we do
want to do everything according to God's will, but a lot of the times
we want to do things our own way.
Learning to die to self is rewarding but it is very challenging. It
is when you think of others above yourself. That is hard. Don't you
think?
Jesus said, "…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily." Luke 9:23 (GW)
"All impulses towards self-indulgence, whether in the line of
avoiding things we fear or seeking things we love, must be denied, and
ruled down by a determined will, whenever indulgence is not demanded,
but is forbidden by the law of love." George G Finney, A Treasury of Great Preaching
I learned a valuable lesson on self-denial yesterday (Sunday, Feb
10, 2008). My husband is in business and for some reason, they decide
to have a business meeting on Sunday afternoon. I was willing to
support my husband but made it clear to him that I was not in favor of
going to a business meeting on Sunday in the middle of our two
services. And because of my husband's eyesight, he is not allowed to
drive, so that makes me the driver for every trip long and short.
We made arrangements so that we would be able to go to this meeting,
which by the way was an hour away. The problem was…yesterday we had a
huge snow storm. When our friends at church learned that my husband
still wanted me to drive him to his meeting even with the terrible
weather conditions, they couldn't believe it and started praying
heavily.
I was not going to drive for an hour to find out that it had been
canceled so I called them 3 times to find out that there was no
cancellation. The trip there was fine, no problems at all.
Our destination did not look like it had much snow. The meeting was
about 3 hours long. When we left, it still was not snowing that much.
We started our drive home and then about 10 minutes into the drive,
we noticed that it was getting much worse weather-wise. Now…I have been
in Canada for 6 years so I have gotten used to driving in the snow, but
never for that long of a distance. (I grew up in the Carolinas in the
USA) I didn't let my husband know it, but I started to worry. I
constantly prayed that we would get home safely.
We did not talk much because I requested that I only concentrate on
keeping the car on the road. At one point, I noticed that I was on the
wrong side of the road. The road was completely white. I couldn't tell
which side I was on. Luckily there were no cars on the highway besides
us. I guess we were the only crazy ones out there.
We got back home and I called our friends to let them know that we
were home safe. Many of them told me that they were praying a lot for
our safe return and were thankful that their prayers were manifested.
What I learned was that even though I was fearful of the drive
during a snow storm, God still brought us through it. I have to admit
that I not so willingly died to myself in this situation. It was hard.
I wanted to tell my husband, "No, I will not drive in those
conditions." But, I surrendered my fear to God and He took care of it.
I know one thing, it is not worth risking the peace in our marriage for
a small trip during a snow storm.
So…when you are faced with an impossible situation, believe that God
will get you through it. He will never leave you, nor forsake you and
if you trust in Him and surrender your fears, then God will take care
of the situation.
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