Deny Yourself

Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. It's what we all are.
Selfless. It's what we should be.
Nobody's perfect, of course, but being Christ-like means striving our darndest to be selfless. It's honestly quite elementary, yet we all tend to really struggle to think less of ourselves and more of others. The only way I even come close to being less selfish is with God's help. And I literally thank God that He does help me. It's simply impossible to do on my own.
My devotional that I've (tried) to read everyday this year is from Joyce Meyer, whom I really enjoy, and is about this very subject today. And I'm feeling led to put it on here. Not sure why. Maybe so that when I read over my posts in the future I'll come across this one and be reminded to be selfless. Or for my girls when they're old enough to get online and look at this. Maybe it'll speak to someone else who may stumble upon my blog. Whatever the case may be, there is a reason. So here goes.

Deny Yourself

And Jesus called to Him the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and follow Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me]. ---Mark 8:34

Jesus said if we want to be His disciples, we will forget about ourselves, lost sight of ourselves and all of our own interests. The minute we hear that, fear strikes our hearts and we hear loudly in our heads, "What about me? If I forget myself, who is going to take care of me?"

My beloved, do not be afraid, God Himself will take care of you. Everything you do for other people will come back to you many times over, with joy. If you are willing to give yourself away, you will have a much better life than you ever would have had trying to keep yourself.

Are you using the resources you have in the service of God and man? Be courageous. Forget about yourself and start doing all you can do to help others. Get a new goal. "Put smiles on faces." Encourage, edify, lift  up, comfort, help, give, relieve pain, and lift burdens.

(She ends with a prayer for the day...) Lord, You called me to a life far bigger than my own interests. Help me to forget about myself and follow You wherever You lead. My greatest pleasure is to be Your disciple. Amen.

And AMEN!