Deny

Deny Yourself and Be Different.

The word that will forever be etched in my mind is “deny.” God breathes these words across my heart, “Lay down more of you, so you can pick up more of me… You are still way too comfortable. Get uncomfortable and follow me!”

Lay aside the bad relationship that is causing you to lower your standards and follow me;

Lay aside that situation screaming with sin potential and follow me;

Lay aside your “center stage” moments, come behind the scenes, and follow me.

At some point in our lives, we must make the decision to follow Jesus no matter what. No matter how much it costs, no matter where He leads. Even when our body aches to do what we want, we have to be willing to follow instead.

Let’s exchange glamorous for righteousness.

Who said denying ourselves would be easy and fun? Who said the red carpet would roll out and parties would be thrown because we served a meal to the homeless? It isn’t fun. It isn’t glamorous. It’s a roll up your sleeves and sweat through your shirt kind of work. Sometimes it's really hard.

I have trouble thinking of what modern day “denial of self” would look like. So just for fun, here are a few examples.

*Your day has been a total mess. Your un-showered hair smells like a wreck. You feel like pulling into the local shopping center, parking, and crying for a couple of hours. All you want to do is drown your sorrows and escape your pain. Instead of making a pit stop at the local bar, deny yourself that drink. Remove the chains of addiction and instead chain yourself to God’s purpose.

*Someone interrupts your day and engages you in gossip. You feel trapped. You want to plug your ears and go running for the hills, but there you are actively listening. Ears are burning and they aren’t yours. You know a juicy scoop that would go nicely on top of all the other slander. But you deny yourself the pleasure of telling what you know. You deny yourself by walking away and rejecting to participate in gossip.

*You become angry. You are in a fender bender. It was your fault but it feels good to blame the other person. You can stomp your feet, flail your arms, and cry out if you need to but deny yourself the satisfaction that anger and harsh words can bring. Deny yourself the speech of hateful words that would so easily roll right off your tongue and instead hold every thought captive.

*There is a steamy T.V. program on that you don’t want to miss. This show would make even your mamma sweat. You realize this program is not appropriate to watch but you want to see it anyway. Deny yourself the pleasure of being entertained by scandal and instead use that hour for devotional time.

For me, this year will be about denying myself. Not just sacrificing the purchase of a super cute outfit, but really denying myself to follow Jesus. Won’t you join me?


This post is written in response to Bonnie Gray's Faith Barista weekly topics. Please go check her out!