The Lord is my Shepherd – I shall not want……..Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the “shadow of death”.
Sometimes God calls me to walk through the valley of the shadow of death – this simply means something in my life has to die. The grief can become unbearable and the sense of loss can affect my perception. He has called me to “Die to Self” to put off – to cut off things in my life which promotes destruction and keeps me from growth – moving to another level. Sometimes this process is slow, other times it can be a sudden loss – “a death”. The experience will give me the same feeling and reaction of a physical death: Shock – Fear – Uncertainty – Grief – Loneliness and wondering how I can live without that person or that thing which I had such a close relationship with. Emotional ties are strong because I had become accustomed to a certain way of life. I had become comfortable in my sin – But God says I must love Him with all my heart, my mind, my soul, my strength……
I read an article online that we cannot love someone we don’t know. When you take God seriously – you will be consumed with the things of God. You will become eager to pray – eager to obey and honor God in all things – and eager to share Jesus Christ with others. It is through these spiritual disciplines that our love for God grows and matures to the glory of God.
Today He says “It is time” What needs to die in your life? God has called me to die to my dreams – to the way I expected Him to answer a specific prayer. I am left empty – lost – confused – angry – not able to move forward. The enemy even taunts me from the side line because he wants to keep me in the fetal position as a slave to fear. Today as I walk through the valley of the “shadow of death” I am reminded of the Children of Israel as they moved through The Red Sea because something in their life had to die – their oppressor.
A Godward Life by John Piper expresses it this way: This does not mean that when we “die to self’ we become inactive or insensible, nor do we feel ourselves to be dead. Rather, dying to self means that the things of the old life are put to death, most especially the sinful ways and lifestyles we once engaged in. Dying to self is never portrayed in Scripture as something optional in the Christian life. It is the reality of the new birth; no one can come to Christ unless he is willing to see his old life crucified with Christ and begin to live anew in obedience to Him. Not only are Christians born again when we come to salvation, but we also continue dying to self as part of the process of sanctification. As such, dying to self is both a one-time event and a lifelong process.
Scripture references: Luke 10:27, Psalm 23:1 & 4, Galatians 2:20, Exodus 14:26-30
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