Die To Yourself Everyday

As you may already know, God has sent me on a new journey in my life. I have left my church home of nearly 3 years in North Augusta, SC to help launch a new campus location of Stevens Creek Church in Grovetown, GA. I struggled for almost 4 months with my decision, and honestly, I gave my answer in May when the job was first offered to me. My answer was simply, "No". In August I felt God tugging on my heart strings and it could not be ignored. It was and still is very clear to me that I am doing what the Lord is directing me to do.


A week ago I saw where a drummer who plays for one of the bands at The Creek wrote a simple phrase on his snare drum. It said, "Die to yourself, everyday." I stared at those four words for probably 30 seconds, reading it over and over again. I honestly don't know if four words have ever cut so deep into me. For years of my life I have only obeyed the Lord as it was convenient to me. And that phrase, "Die to yourself, everyday." made me realize my will ultimately does not matter, and neither does yours! What we want is not always what God wants. He has a plan to use our talents in ways we cannot fathom.


2 Chronicles 16:9 says this, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth looking for those to whom he may show himself strong, whose heart is perfect towards Him."

Read that verse again...
"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth looking for those to whom he may show himself strong, whose heart is perfect towards Him."

God is searching for a heart that is perfect towards him. A heart that is soft and in love with him and prepared to serve however the Lord pleases. In our world it is so easy to catch hold of possessions and worldly relationships and lose our true focus on the cross. God ask that we die to ourselves everyday.



I was reading an online article recently that talked about an old Japanese man who was a Grandmaster in Martial Arts. He used to ask his young students everyday, "Is this a good day to die?" Of course the young students did not want to think of death at such a young age, so their answers were always, "No". The Grandmaster did not ever miss the chance to ask his young students his famous question, "Is this a good day to die?"

Years later the Grandmaster was very old and was in a hospital bed dying. One of his early students who was now a very successful business man asked his Grandmaster. "Sir, why did you always ask us if today was a good day to die?" The old man replied, "Young warrior, you have never answered that question right." The business man looked at his Grandmaster and said, "But sir, I was honest in my answer, I never thought any of those days were a good day to die." The Grandmaster looked up with tear filled eyes and said, "Young warrior, you have missed it. After years of my teaching and after all of my efforts, you have still missed it. Your pension plan does not matter. Neither does your 401k. Your dreams do not matter. And your will does not matter. Your answer to the question was always wrong because it was what YOU wanted." The Grandmaster continued, "Young warrior, the day you die to yourself, is the day all of your greatest talents will be seen, and all of your dreams will come true. You will be the most successful when you die to yourself daily."

This should teach us a very valuable lesson. Our hopes and dreams can only take us so far. But when you die to yourself and let GOD run your life, his will for you surpasses any dream or goal you could ever imagine.

Finally, I challenge you to pray the prayer that I have been praying daily, "God help me live with a heart that is perfect towards you. I am dying to myself today."

Hang on. The ride is great.


_ C _