Of our 4 kids, Emily loves dogs the most. Since she sleeps with a stuffed cow, fondly called “dow”, she thinks all dogs are the same as cows. After all, dogs, like cows, are cute and furry with four legs and a tail! The other boys like to point out dogs to her, “Emily, oohh--ohh!! Dow!”, and if we see a dog at a park, Emily must meet him!
Today Pastor Bob told about his own dog, and how he trained his dog from the early years to “sit”, “stay” and “heel”. He pointed out the beauty of a self-controlled dog like his, who can walk obediently beside him through the neighborhood without a leash.
There is only one problem with his dog’s desire to heel beside Pastor Bob: his love for chasing rabbits!
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| What rabbits are you chasing?? |
If there is even one rabbit, suddenly the lesser desire of obeying his master gets overruled by his greater desire to chase that bunny.
This is a picture of us when it comes to self-control.
“Self-control is easy when displayed against lesser desires, but hard when tested against greater and stronger desires” (@bobthune).
Proverbs 25.28
“Like a city whose walls are broken down
is a man who lacks self-control”
The question:
“What’s the rabbit in your life??”
Woah! This is a hard one, Pastor Bob!
What am I tempted to chase after?
What desires do I have that should be secondary to my desire to glorify God?
Is it gluttony? exercise and body image? consumerism and shopping? work? leisure? entertainment? lust? fame? power? influence? significance and being known? pleasing others? being in control?
As I consider these possibilities, my awareness of my sin gets deeper when Pastor Bob points out:
At the root of all “rabbits” I am tempted to chase after, is one thing:
SELF
Why do I struggle with self-control so much!? Because the problem is not control....it is self.
The problem with trying to suffocate my desires by myself is that my power of will alone falls short.
“We don’t need greater control, but less self” (@bobthune).
Oh no! How am I going to think of myself less and desire God more?
“All the will-power in the world can’t ‘un-self’ you. Only Jesus Christ can do that” (@bobthune).
“What a wretched [wo]man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7.24-25
The good news in the Gospel sets me free from this idol of self, and points me to the source of true life: our Lord Jesus.
How do I disempower self??
Answer:
“Trust in Jesus! Jesus came to un-self us...to invite us out of ourselves and INTO HIM!” (@bobthune).
Jesus gives us the power of a greater love, the power of new primary desires.
Whereas my primary desires are usually self-motivated, Jesus gives me a new desire to love and worship Him that surpasses anything else.
“You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
Psalm 16.11
Psalm 16.11
Jesus,
I confess that I have often turned to pleasures other than you, and I have not turned to you to find the path of life.
I am grieved at my sin of self-focus and self-righteousness, self-interest, and self-will.
I repent that I have too often tried to detour away from You on “bunny trails” rather than in contentedly walking the narrow road beside my Master.
I admit that I run to false idols in order to find a savior and refuge, and yet I know these do not free me and do not fill me. They promise me what they can’t deliver.
I declare that there is no other God besides You!
“No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.
All who make idols are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless”
Isaiah 44.8-9
Isaiah 44.8-9
I embrace the truth about you, Jesus, that you are a better Savior and you can do what all the other idols fail to do.
Thank you for freeing me to indulge less in myself and more in You, Jesus!
Oh Lord, help me to delight in obeying you and walking beside you more than any competing desire or distraction!
“Christ’s blood sets us free from idols.”
May this be my life prayer:
“He must become greater; I must become less”
John 3.30
Beautiful, Jessica! Thank you for sharing. I recently finished a study of the Fruit of the Spirit and was reminded that each fruit is a fruit of the SPIRIT, not of my determination. Usually I think "I need to exercise more love, joy, peace, self-control (enter fruit of choice)" in any given situation, but what this study taught me is that it isn't for me strive to do better or be better at it in my own power. It is a work of the Holy Spirit living in me. When I am abiding in Jesus, when I am grafted to the Vine (John 15.5) I have His power and it releases me from striving to muster up my own power. "True victory is not found in controlling myself--true freedom and victory are found in being led by God's Spirit who dwells in me. Self control comes when I relinquish ultimate control to Jesus, my vine and my strength." (Debbie Eaton, SheReadsTruth.com)
ReplyDeleteYou said the same thing, that it is only through Jesus that we disempower self and that He gives us the power of a greater love and the power of new primary desires. I pray along with Jessica, that You, God would help me to delight in following and obeying You more than any other desire.
Love this, Cheri! Thank you so much for sharing! Yes, let's pray this for each other and journey together by the Spirit. Love you, J
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