FRIDAY: SELF-DENIAL
KEY PASSAGE
Luke 9:23-25
DEVOTIONAL
What if one day Jesus showed up at your workplace and asked you to leave your occupation (your boats), possessions (your nets), and even your family to follow Him? That’s how Jesus approached the fishermen He called as His first disciples. He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we give up our personal desires for the direction of our life. This may not require leaving our occupation or our families as it did for those early disciples, but it does mean that God now has authority over our lives. He calls each of us to come and follow Him.
Jesus makes a requirement for those who choose to follow Him: to deny yourself and take up your cross (vs. 23). Self-denial is “the willingness to deny oneself possessions or status, in order to grow in holiness and commitment to God.”
In our humanity, our natural inclination is to serve ourselves, but God calls us to self-surrender. This means placing your life fully in His hands and trusting that His plan is far greater than anything you could imagine for yourself.
The Apostle Paul exemplifies this kind of surrender in his life. Paul describes his earthly achievements a loss (or as rubbish) in comparison to knowing Christ (Philippians 3:7-8). When we die daily to ourselves, we gain the privilege of truly knowing Christ—and Christ is all that we need!
CHALLENGE
Reflect on these questions today: Are there any personal desires or patterns in your life that serve you but are not aligned with Christ? What comforts or perceived rights might God be asking you to surrender for His purpose?
Make a plan to lay those things down, and ask God what He is calling you to pick up as you follow Him.