dying 2 self.

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

I'm a firm believer that the song "Refiner" by Maverick City Music should've came with a warning label. ever since I sang along to that song, my life has been in complete turbulence. 

at the time I was a baby Christian, wanting God to refine me, but not understanding the depth of what I was truly asking Him to do.

singing along to the song with high emotions, tears streaming down my face, whilst allowing Holy Spirit to captivate me was beautiful--in theory. however, three years later, it now makes sense lol.

no one tells you that following Jesus, saying yes, not just with words, but with a heart posture yielded to Him (in action), will cost you everything.

let me burst your bubble really quick, you WILL lose friends, relationships, family, opportunities, social media presence, idols, the fortune. 

you will lose things you never imagined would ever leave you. 

this will bring grief...great grief. but Godly grief. your heart will begin to break for the things that break God's. a Godly sorrow is what leads to repentance. ( 2 Corinthians 7:9-10)

Jesus tells us in John that the Father prunes those that He loves. Jesus is the vine, we're the branches. in a physical sense, in order for a tree to produce good fruit, it must be pruned.

pruning produces good fruit. 

yes, it hurts. 

yes, their leaving hurt you.

yes, letting go hurts. 

but understand that this is the Lord's favor.

see, we think favor is the accumulation of fame and fortune. but sometimes favor may look like pruning, it may look like refinement, it may look like the idols in your life falling one by one.

true love corrects. 

true love refines. 

true love can only be found in Christ.

so if you're currently in a season of refinement, just know that this is for your good. you're going to produce more oil.

stop running away, and let Him refine you. let the potter form you.

when Jesus told His disciples to die to ourselves and pick up our cross (Luke 9:23-24), this meant that our old nature had to die. this is a prerequisite from the LORD.

we cannot carry our idols along with us. we can't even carry our praying, bible-thumping friends with us. we are only meant to carry our cross and follow Christ.

also, this isn't a one-time death by the way. this is something we are supposed to do daily. the more we kill our flesh, the more our spirit thrives.

dying to self is an excruciating process, but it's worth it. because you're not dying alone. Jesus took the first step. now it's your turn.