Luke 9:23 - "And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.'"
Gospel.com, when talking about this verse says, "Following Jesus isn't always easy--in fact, it often requires us to go against the grain of our natural human impulses. The work of loving Jesus and acting righteously is an everyday struggle of denying our own desires."
I like this statement. So often, as Christians we subconsciously think that it should be easier to follow Him. We think that if we have our priorities straight and love Him above all else, then nothing would truly feel like a struggle. Really though, there are many hardships, no matter how much you love Christ and have an eternal perspective. Also, I like how the author of that statement said that following Jesus means doing things that are unnatural to us. It's not natural to be holy ('set apart'-honestly, who really wants to be different from everyone else?) or to obey when it's hard. It also says that loving Jesus and acting righteously are work. Of course, these things can be easy at times and will produce blessings out the wazoo, but sometimes they are hard goals to have! The last part-"...everyday struggle of denying our own desires" is what I really want to focus on.
First of all, let's take a look at what "death" means. Dictionary.com defines death as "the act of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism" and "extinction; destruction". There are some other definitions it gives too but they pretty much all mean the same things. As Christians, we have died to sin and are made alive in Christ. Our sin's life has ended; all the vital functions of our sins have totally and permanently ceased. It is no more. We, of course, still sin. But we are no longer held captive by the bondage of sin. We can now escape it.
But death to sin is not the only death we encounter as believer in Christ. We must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily, as Jesus said. The term "deny self" implies that it will be a hard thing. Each day we have to surrender to God and ask Him to help us deal with our sin and live righteously. We have to let go of our fleshly desires and learn to want what God wants. In her book Passion and Purity, Elisabeth Elliot says, "Life requires countless 'little' deaths-occasions when we are given the chance to say no to self and yes to God." Denying myself means that when I want to go to sleep instead of finishing my homework, I need to press on and finish what I've started, still doing it as if it were for the Lord (Colossians 3:23). It means that when I don't want to volunteer to do the dishes, I should do it in order to serve my sisters. I have to say no to my flesh and do what God requires of me.
A big part of being a Christian, or a woman seeking to please her Lord, is denying self and doing what God requires. Thankfully, we know what He requires of us- "He has told you, o man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). God is not someone who expects things but never tells us what it is that He expects. He shows us through His word and through the example of His Son exactly what He wants from us, and will gladly help us do it. The only thing that is needed to be able to do this is denial of self.
Addison Leitch said, "When the will of God crosses the will of man, somebody has to die." Every time I want something that God would not want, I have to let go of my own desires. This is hard work, but it brings immeasurable joy.
