Living my life for the Lord has completely changed it. What would happen in your life if you prayed each day and asked the Lord to help you be on fire for Him to build the Kingdom? It is surprising what God can with humble and surrendered hearts.
Jesus tells us in Luke 9:23, “Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.[1] I believe this verse gives us great insight into following the Lord and what it takes to truly do our best. We need to take up the cross daily, which means each day we need to ask the Lord to help us follow Him. Each day we need to ask the Lord in prayer what we need to be doing. Like daily bread, following Jesus is also daily.
Living Your Life for Yourself has Consequences
The world is continually telling people to live your life for yourself, yet when we follow this path, it leads to an empty life. King Solomon writes of the emptiness of following your own plans. Ecclesiastes2:9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. [2]
Sisera was the commander of the Canaanite army, which would have been highly successful by the world standards. But what did his life accomplish for the Kingdom of God? Nothing, as he was opposed to God’s people. For all his worldly success, he would die at the hands of a woman while he slept. He would go into eternity without a relationship with the Lord.
How many people are living lives today that are successful by the world, but not by God? What path are you on? Is the Lord calling you to place your faith in Him or to renew your faith? Is He calling you to take up the cross daily with His help?
The author of Hebrews gives great insight on the importance of faith. Hebrews 11: 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. [3]
Living Your Life for God is a Great Blessing
Jesus is our perfect model. He did everything according to the perfect and pleasing will of the Father. Jesus makes it clear that sacrifice is the doorway to finding the life God intends for us. It’s the doorway that leads to the perfect will of our heavenly Father. Living my life for the Lord means living it sacrificially.
It feels impossible based on past experiences and present selfish desires. But we need to take time to know the God to whom we are serving. We need to renew our mind to the perfect love of Jesus who would lay down his own life for us before ever asking us to follow in his footsteps.
Jesus said in John 10:10, “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. [4] God has plans greater than we could ever ask or imagine in store for us if we will lay down our will to make space for His. He has great joy for us if we will exchange our selfish desires for His dreams and visions that are full of purpose, meaning, and adventure.
To hear more about living your life for the Lord, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/faith-makes-a-difference-barak
[1-4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.