My Daily Cross

You know the feeling you get when something bad is about to happen or when you have to make a difficult decision? And the truth is that you don't have to make a difficult decision because you have already made it--you just have to enforce it. You know the right thing to do, but you dread it because it isn't what you wanted the right thing to be. But you must...you have no choice. It seems strange to me whenever people tell me that I'm brave. Sometimes I think I'm only brave when I have no other options left. I wonder how God feels about my "last-resort-bravery" and if He just understands my weakness because He faced a big cross himself (even though on a scale, His far outweighs mine). I wonder why I keep trying to do things on my own instead of just letting go to God and resting in His goodness. I started to think about the verse where Jesus said, "If any of you would be my follower, then you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). Oh, there it was....the dreaded daily. Some days do you just kind of hope that you will make it through the day without needing/having to take up your cross? And then.... *bam* there it is, and you must. But then I started to think about what actually happens when I take up my cross--it isn't just the moment of my day where something "bad" happens or I face disappointment, it is a much greater moment than that. It is a moment glory--a moment of becoming more like Christ, a moment where the world fades and your true love is revealed--it is a moment of beauty. Instead of the all-dreaded moment of your day, it is the peak of your day. It is the reason you are still on earth.

Sunday my preacher said that "a life of defeat is walking by sight rather than faith. The promises in the Bible are for YOU--not just the "super spiritual." If you choose to live in defeat, then you are putting yourself out of human help--only God can help then. The Abundant Life is a choice--yours if you want it. Walk by faith--not by sight. It is an issue of control. Faith is obedience, an act of following God. God who knows everything says, "Trust me. Just do it. It will work."

"Only those who hunger and thirst after righteousness have the promise of being fully filled/satisfied. When you try to fill up your life with things other than Christ, you will come up empty every time. Repent, Believe, Follow--do this and you'll be happy, I'll be happy, and God will be happy or you can just keep following your own way/will and be unhappy."

This sermon had 2 dimensions--of course, it applies to nonbelievers who need salvation, but it also applies to Christians who need to surrender. I think sometimes we forget that surrender is a daily activity--not a one time change. So, I'm trying to look at my daily cross from a different perspective--one of being intensely close with God rather than a perspective of "disappointment." Thinking on how loved I am, how are the things that I give up even sacrifice? And thinking of Heaven awaiting and the battle already won, how can I live in defeat?