Month: August 2023

Jesus tells us here in His own words what He came on earth to do. And in this one sentence we have a description of how Jesus lived every single day of His entire life on earth. The thirty years of Jesus’ life in Nazareth are referred to as hidden years. But here Jesus reveals what He did during every day of those 30 years. He denied His own will and He did His Father’s will.

Jesus was tempted in different situations for 30 years in Nazareth. It is written about those hidden years that “He never pleased Himself” at any time ( Rom. 15:3 ). He always denied Himself. Thus He pleased the Father at all times. Pleasing oneself can be done in many areas of one’s life – for example, in the area of eating. Consider a situation where, even when you are not hungry, you decide to spend some money to buy some tasty snacks to eat. There is certainly nothing sinful or wrong in that. But it speaks of a certain way of life. Because you have money, you buy what you like, whether you need it or not. You do what pleases yourself. If you feel like buying something you buy it. If you feel like going somewhere, you go. If you feel like sleeping late, you just sleep late. What is the end result of living like that, even if you go regularly to the meetings and read your Bible every day? You may not lose your salvation, but you will certainly waste the one life that God gave you to live for Him.

When Jesus was with the Father in heaven from eternity past, He never had to deny His own will, for His own will was the same as His Father’s. But when He came to earth in our flesh, that flesh had a self-will that was diametrically opposed to the Father’s will at every single point. The only way in which Jesus could do His Father’s will then was by denying His own self-will all the time. This was the cross that Jesus bore throughout His earthly life – the crucifixion of His own will – and which He now asks us to bear every day, if we are to follow Him. It was the consistent denial of His own will that made Jesus a spiritual Man. And it is the denial of our self-will that will make us spiritual too.

Consider a situation where you are visiting your home after a tough day at work and you are tempted to say something negative about a certain person in your family. What do you do? Will you yield to that temptation and backbite, or will you deny yourself and keep your mouth shut? Many imagine that such a sin will not destroy their lives. But, it is only in eternity that many brothers and sisters will realize how every time they pleased themselves, they destroyed themselves a little. Then they will regret the way they wasted their lives on earth.

Spirituality is not something that comes through one encounter with God. It is the result of choosing the way of self-denial and of doing God’s will CONSISTENTLY day after day, week after week, and year after year. 

Mature Christians are those who “because of practice (in exercising their will in the right direction through many years), have their senses trained to discern good and evil” ( Heb.5:14 ). Determine that you will become a true man/woman of God.

Prayer:

Loving heavenly Father,

Help me to yield to your will at all times in my life.
Help me to deny my self and walk in your will always.
Show me the ways in which I should walk. Help me to make the right decisions.
Give me the strength to overcome every temptation that makes me please myself.
And Lord, give me the wisdom and courage to walk consistently in your will.
May only your will prevail in my life.

Amen.