ARE YOU DYING TO LIVE?

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him”
2 TIMOTHY 2:11

Dying is one area that many of us would prefer not to discuss, or even think about.
One of the reasons may be that we are ‘social beings’.
We enjoy being around others and don’t particularly enjoy being alone for any length of time.
Consequently, when we think of death, we realize that it is something we will have to do alone.
But is that really true?
It is not the case for believers, is it?

God has promised never to leave us or forsake us.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,
because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
(Hebrews 13:5)

Since He is the God of Truth, He never breaks His promises.
Since He never breaks His promises, then He will be with us even as we face death.
In fact, we may have a greater awareness of His presence at death than we ever had during our life.
What a comforting thought to know that He is waiting to walk with us through this new experience.

That covers the physical death, but there is more!
We can also die while we live.
We die to the things of this world and live with Him while we are still here on earth.
During our physical death He makes the journey with us,
but when we die to worldly things, He walks with us daily as we live.
How exciting is that?
The all-powerful, all knowing, ever present God of the universe (the ONLY God) is with us every day.

What does that mean to us?
It could mean any number of things to each individual,
but to all of us it means that He gives us strength to deal with the challenges we face in a sinful world.
Of course the key to enjoying His presence is to actually die to the things of the world.
When we choose to do this, we can start living with Him and start enjoying the blessings He has for us.
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
(Romans 11:33)

Dying a physical death is not a choice (Jesus is the only one who chose to die),
but dying to the things of this world is a choice.
One could argue that someone who takes their own life chose to die.
They chose to die earlier perhaps, but they did not make a choice to die.
The scriptures say that we are destined to die.
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment
(Hebrews 9:27)

When we choose to ‘die to the world’ and ‘live with God’, everything changes for us.
We have new desires, a new focus and new priorities.
Our desires for the things of the world are replaced with new desires to spend time with the Lord
and to make every effort to please Him.
Why would we want to spend time with the Lord?
Because we enjoy it!
In fact, if we do not enjoy spending time with the Lord and look forward to worshipping Him,
we may need to re-evaluate our faith and determine if we need to make additional changes.

It is no secret that the world is trying to remove God from everything as much as possible.
Apparently this is having an impact on believers as well
because many are attending church less frequently, or not at all.
How can God continue to shape our lives if we choose to spend less time with Him?
Another concern is, when we spend less time with Him, something is going to fill the gap.
Whatever replaces our time with God could lead us farther away from Him.
It is important for believers to read His Word, pray, and worship with others in His house.

During the Great Depression, there was a man who lost his job, his fortune, his wife and his home.
He clung to the only hope he had left – his faith.
One day he stopped to watch some men doing stonework on a huge church.
One of them was chiseling a piece of stone in the shape of a triangle.
He asked,
“What are you going to do with that?”
The workman replied,
“See that little opening away up there near the spire?
Well, I’m shaping this down here, so it will fit in up there.”
Tears filled the eyes of the man as he walked away.
He felt that God had spoken to him through the workman as he tried to cope with his problems.
It was as if God was saying to him,
“I’m shaping you down here, so you’ll fit in up there.”

What things of the world have you failed to die to?
Are you still clinging to some things you know you should let go of?
Have you said “One of these days I’ll let go of ______” (fill in the blank)?
Today is ‘one of these days’.
When will you choose to die to the things that displease God?
You can choose not to choose, but when you don’t choose, you have made a choice.
Do you really want to live with God now or not?
Pray,
“Lord, I ask you to forgive me for holding on to some things of this world.
I want to please you and not the world but I know that I am failing in some areas.
Others may not know about my failings, but You do and I am sorry.
Please continue shaping my life so that I will die to the worldly things
and have a closer walk with You.  You mean that much to me!  Amen.”