Death

Picture by **Mads Schmidt Rasmussen** @ Unsplash

Hello,

My last post on self-righteousness ended with the call to die to self.

As ardent followers of Christ, death is the starting point to live with Him in glory. But when I say death, do I mean a physical end? No, I mean the death of the flesh/senses, so that the Spirit of God has an enabling environment to work in my life. Though He is the Spirit, He will not push or use His power to get me to submit; He needs to be provided with the platform to work as we offer our lives to God.

Galatians 2:20 states that ‘I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.’ – NKJV

I was born into a Christian family and raised to be a Christian, but the truth found in these words did not make sense until recently. I came face to face with circumstances I could not control or make right, and I gradually concluded, that I am irrelevant. Thankfully, those circumstances have brought me to the point where I can declare that I no longer exist to be who my family wants me to be, to live according to the will of man, or to live as governed by a blood connection! I live only for the will of God (John 1:12-13). So, every day I wake up, I must be doing what God wants, when He wants it and how He wants. One will then ask, how do we know the what, when, and how? We must, therefore, strive to build a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

John 14:26 states that, ‘But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you’ – NKJV

1 Cor 2:9-10, 12 states that, ‘But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.’- NKJV

The Holy Spirit was given to us in Christ as THE Helper. To teach us ALL the things we need to know about God and His son, His word. In these times, it seems hard to remain a Christian, because the system of the world seems to be overwhelming the church. We see hardships, pain, trauma everywhere, and people ask, where is God?

Early this year by the mercies of God, I started a new walk with Him. He has continually allowed me to go through different situations where I saw Him as God. In all these situations, I continuously face death (total submission to God, where my decision process is in complete alignment with God’s will). I realize that as a priest of God, (Revelations 5:9-10) He is taking me through the process of death in every area of my life.

John 12:24 states that, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.’ – NKJV

I now understand that if God does not complete the process of death, I can never experience the glory in Christ fully. So daily, I submit to the Helper, and in obedience, I am taught and led. I have come to understand that darkness will never comprehend light, no matter what we go through, no matter the pain or hurt. God alone can give peace in any situation as we submit to Him, believing He is God.

Now, do I pass through pain, poverty, shame? All the time. I am learning that I can only do so much in any circumstance, but when I submit everything to God, life comes out of it. So let death work in me, that the life of Christ may manifest through me.

What are the challenges for today?