HE > i

“He must become greater; I must become less.”

(John 3:30)

Meditation

It’s human nature to be competitive with others. We want, at the very least, to be on an even keel with everyone else; even God. After all, that’s why we’re in the mess we’re in right now. Satan convinced Adam and Eve they could be “like the Most High God.” In other words, they wanted to be gods themselves, just like we do. As a young adult, I decided I could be the god of my life. I thought I was in control of my situation and no one was going to rule over me. Some people don’t want to be gods, then create the god that best suits what they want a god to be like. The gods they create think their sins don’t matter, which allows them to go on living however they want.

No one likes to feel guilty about sin, so their god doesn’t judge them. They make statements like, “The Jesus I was taught about wouldn’t send me to hell for doing that.” When anyone says something like that, they are no longer worshiping the one true and living God of heaven and earth. They are worshipping a god of their own making. In reality, they are following nothing but their own desires. They don’t realize it, but they are listening to that same old serpent, offering them the forbidden fruit.

I know I struggle with always wanting to be in control of my life. I try to make the important decisions without having to wait on the Lord. I like to think of myself as being decisive. Having to wait on the Lord seems, well, kind of like a weakness. When I follow Christ, my ego must fade away whether I’m an elder of a church, the preacher, or a lay person. I must surrender my will over totally to the will of God. He knows best what is good for me and what is not. Trying to keep my ego in the forefront would be like an amoeba thinking it’s greater than a human. We’re not even close to being comparable to God. Likened to God, we’re only the tiniest bit above an amoeba.

It’s not just my ego. In every part of my life, I have to be in submission to Christ. If I try to continue to control certain parts of my life, like my entertainment choices, I will fall back into sinful behavior. Like most people, I’m easily led astray, so I would usually pick something that the Lord wouldn’t approve of. That’s why I try very hard to step back and let the Holy Spirit guide me through life. God is so much greater than I could ever think of being. It’s the only choice there is for me to make. 

Daily Prayer

Father God your ways are higher than our ways. Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Your will is supreme in our lives. When we were of the unsaved horde, we were of the highest priority in our own eyes. Even though we love other people, very seldom is another more important to us than our own wellbeing. We thank you, Father, for making a way for us to escape that selfish life we were once prisoner to. Now that we have repented and been washed by the blood, help us to take a step back from our instinct to have everything our way. Don’t let us begin to think we know everything we need to know and begin to lead others astray. We pray you will give us the wisdom to know we will never know all on this side of glory. Keep us patient and humble and ready to receive your rebuke with grace when we step over the line. Drive us to our knees when we realize we need you more than we need to have our own way. Thank you Jesus and it’s in your name we pray. Amen!