Are You Stuck?

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It has been my experience that when I find myself in a place where I no longer enjoy God, I have in some area of my life refused to go on with Him.

It may be tempting when I feel the disconnect to “up my ministry game.” I can spend days, even weeks, trying to convince myself that I’m fine. I might have the world fooled outwardly, but inwardly I am stuck in a dialog that the tug at my heart isn’t conviction. It’s just me overthinking things. One thing is for sure; it’s not a place of peace or enjoyment of God.

Can you relate? Do you go for long periods of time ignoring the nagging conviction, the pressing of God’s finger, on the person, issue, circumstance, sin He is asking you to surrender?

I am thankful for God’s patience with me. Sooner or later, I have, by His grace, relented of my obstinance and allowed God to pry my fingers off my treasured idol and take it from me. But what a battle I face at times to let go!

That’s just it, you know. We hold on to our idols. Maybe it’s control or comfort or frankly, the enjoyment of a particular sin. It’s something taking the place of God in my heart. My refusal to surrender it not only causes anxiety, irritability, lack of joy, skewed perspective. It hinders my fellowship with God and all the wonderful joys of walking with Him!

So, I have found the whole of my everyday Christian life is the process of letting go of idols to make room in my heart for God.  

Tammy, can the Christian life be that simply defined? 

Think about it.

Our enjoyment of God is a byproduct of His Lordship in our hearts.

Our boldness to share the Gospel comes from a surrendered heart to Christ.

Our joy and fulfillment come from knowing Him and obeying Him.

Our willingness to do whatever, wherever, whenever is evidence of unhindered, rich fellowship with the Father.

All of this starts in the surrendered heart.

Matt 16:24-25 tells us, Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

If I want to follow Jesus, I must take up my cross and follow Him. 

I know. You’ve probably already heard this. Right?  

Well, I want to give you another perspective. It’s something I have tended to overlook while reading this familiar passage.

I always imagined “taking up my cross” was ME, in my most pious endeavor, daily showing God I am serious about following Him. I have looked at the “taking up” in relation to my power to do so.

But, Let’s be honest.  

Dying daily: Do we really think about that or seek to do so each day?  

Do my best? yeah.

Make a strong effort? Okay.

All of these leave room for me to decide what I will and will not let go of.

Die? That is quite dramatic!

But it’s exactly what Jesus says we must do. Don’t despair. I have good news, as we look at the command in perhaps a way you never have before.

When I am taking up my cross – I am actually taking up the cross of Christ – who loved me and gave Himself for me.  

HIS cross is my cross. Stay with me here.

When I die daily, I am not meant to go to my death but HIS. I am not told to put on my spiritual best, and hope to make a good show of my devotion to God.  I am meant to put on Christ and Christ crucified. So when I “take up my cross,” I am taking up Christ and His power. Only then do I have the ability to die to self and live in Him.  

I can do all things through Christ with strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.Galatians 2:20

What great news!In His power, we can die daily.

But I want to go back to the issue of being stuck and not enjoying God, not living in Him daily.

Let’s look again at the passage in Matthew 16:24-25. Verse 25 says, “Whoever would save his life will lose it.”

When we get out of sync with God, when we ignore His prompting to surrender an area of our hearts, we are “saving our life.”

It means, in a sense, holding back for himself/herself, like keeping that piece of cake hidden from the family for your own enjoyment—the protection of your own affections at the expense of obedience to God. 

Dying daily and surrendering the difficult things in our hearts go hand in hand.

Simply put,

• you cannot do what Christ commands us in His Word to do unless you do it in Christ.

• And you cannot act in Christ if you are ignoring the point where He presses in.  

• Therefore, you are stuck.

But you don’t have to be.

Friend, what do you need to surrender today?

Christ says, die to self – surrender that thing. Pick up your cross – identify with His death, His cross, and His blood shed for you. And then, do one more thing.

Follow Him. This has nothing to do with “act Christian” or “practice piety.” It’s a relationship and a journey.

I say it all the time. We are called Christ-followers because He intends to take us somewhere, not leave us where we are.

I like what Tozer said, “We must ascend a step at a time. If we refuse one step, we bring our progress to an end.”

Are you stuck? It’s my prayer today that God will press in to the matter so deeply for you that you can no longer ignore it. My prayer is that you will surrender. Put on Christ, His death, and His power. Get back in step with Him. It is there that your joy will be restored.