It’s no good just turning to Jesus when something is wrong in our lives. We need to cultivate our own personal relationship with our Savior. So, do we want to use Jesus only to gratify our needs or help us out when trouble strikes? No! When we follow Jesus, we must be all in and submit every part of our lives to Him, trusting Him with everything. He uses all things for our good. We can turn to Him in times of difficulty, but we are the ones in spiritual trouble if we only turn to Him when we’re in need. We must remain vigilant against this because it is in our human nature to focus on our own wants, needs, and desires. But only when we live our lives for Jesus can we truly find happiness and peace.
When we make it all about ourselves, it's like any human relationship—people wouldn’t want to stay around long if we made everything about us and only cared about what we want. So why, when it comes to our relationship with Jesus, do we sometimes act as though it’s all about us? It should be all about Him, what He wants, and what He desires. We must pick up our cross daily and seek what God wants for our lives—not what we want, not what is on our agenda for the day, or what we want advice about. We need to listen and look to God’s Word, not to ask what He can say about everything we want, but rather, what does God want to say to us? What does God want from us? How can we personally glorify Him?
We can ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us and guide us in this pursuit to follow Jesus. We need to ask God for forgiveness, turning from our selfish desires and human nature, and back to Him—back to the heart of the Father. By soaking in His Word daily and praising His holy name, we realign ourselves with His will.
How can we hear His voice if we don’t have a personal relationship with Him? It’s like when you recognize your spouse’s footsteps outside your door before they walk in, or how a mother can recognize her child’s cry. Do we recognize when our Savior is calling us? We can only recognize His voice if we have a personal relationship with Him. We need to be embedded in His Word and have it written on our hearts so we can recognize when He calls us. Listening to Jesus is not just about hearing an external voice or a whisper in our ear; it’s through His Word that He speaks to us. If we read, learn, love, and allow it to rule our lives, we’ll learn more about who Jesus is and draw closer to Him. It’s not all about us—about hearing answers or direction for our lives—but it’s also about glorifying Jesus and listening to what He wants to say to us through His Word. He is our teacher, and we need to listen to His Word and absorb everything He has to say to us through it.
Don’t always come to Jesus with questions and expect answers. Come to Him for a personal relationship, and surrender yourself to Him. Make it all about Him. Serve Him and ask what He wants you to do for Him—not the other way around.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we come before You with humble hearts, seeking to surrender our lives to You. Help us to stop making it all about our own desires and agendas. Teach us to seek You first, to listen to Your Word, and to truly live for You. Fill us with Your wisdom and discernment, and guide us in every step of our journey. We ask for Your Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts and lead us in the direction You have for our lives. May our relationship with You be deep, genuine, and all-encompassing, and may we always seek to glorify You in all we do. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Matthew 16:24
"Then Jesus told His disciples, 'If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.'"
Add comment
Comments