One or the other
When God first invited His people into life with Him, He couldn’t have been more shameless, really. ‘If you want life and good, choose me. If you want death and misery, don’t.’ We want happiness. We hate sadness. It should be an obvious choice. But isn’t it odd how, when we’re faced with a God who says ‘I’ll give you that happiness’, we shrink back? We think ‘well, if I choose this, what will I miss out on? What part of my personality will I kill?’ And in a way, we’re right to be worried. It all will have to go. Like a dentist, God has to remove what’s rotten in us for something healthy to take its place. God works by displacement. You can’t have Him if you’re clinging tight onto something else. So, if you’re feeling God’s invitation to more life with Him today – whether that’s for the first time or the hundredth – make sure you know what you’re choosing between. If there are parts of your life where you’re fascinated by sin, or habits of thought that take you down negative spirals that you actually don’t mind being taken down, or patterns of speech that are relentlessly critical – know they’ll have to go. Any secret happiness with sin has to be killed. But the great news is, He’s stronger. If He’s inviting you to more of Him, He’ll give you the strength to do it. Every time we’re faced with temptation, God gives us the strength to choose Him – if we’ll take it.
What Now?
Is there something that’s preventing you from fully surrendering to a life with and for God? Ask God to help you loosen your grip on it today.