Welcome to Day 11 of The Challenge! Our verse to memorize is II Timothy 2:11:
~
"It is a faithful saying:
For if we be dead with him,
we shall also live with him:"
~
Dying in order to live…what a concept. It is such a fundamental principle of the Christian faith (one I have heard all my life), but try as I may, it wasn’t until the Lord began to actually ask me to die—to real-life, flesh-and-blood things, ideals, real people—that I would begin to realize how like death this journey with God really is. Death is not pretty; it often comes with a struggle; it is not something that is asked for; and is usually very—sometimes even torturously—painful. While absolutely one of the most freeing realizations, it is truly the most painful one I have ever experienced. I have had to come to grips with the fact that almost any conflict, unrest, or unhappiness inside of me is due to my own struggling against the Lord, my dreams not being His, my flesh still living.
To be honest, I don’t like to die. Sometimes I wonder if its even possible to bear again the heartache I’ve had as He asks me to die to something precious . . . something really good! Yet . . . I want you to know that I wouldn’t have it any other way now. I wouldn’t want to be left to the mercy of myself for anything; because every single thing I think should be would never actually be what I wanted once it came (otherwise I would be putting myself as wiser than God). It is absolute horror to 
experience Psalm 106:15: “And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” Believe me. I have seen it. With this, I beg of you—die with Him to everything, to life as you think you want it! Die so you can live, really live. Oh the cost and the pain of such a death, yes . . . but who wouldn’t trade it for such a LIFE? Not a soul, if they truly knew what it was like.
I felt that you might be blessed by the following portion of a letter that a man of God sent to one of his disciples. It has been a watershed exhortation to me for some time now. God bless you with all of my heart, with the grace (the desire and the power) to die with Him. You don’t have to do it alone.
~ Brittany Smith
The Death of Self
“Whatever spiritual knowledge or feelings we may have, they are all a delusion if they do not lead us to the real and constant practice of dying to self. And it is true that we do not die without suffering. Nor is it possible to be considered truly dead while there is any part of us which is yet alive. This spiritual death (which is really a blessing in disguise) is undeniably painful. It cuts ‘swift and deep into our innermost thoughts and desires with all their parts, exposing us for what we really are.’
"The great Physician who sees in us what we cannot see, knows exactly where to place the knife. He cuts away that which we are most reluctant to give up. And how it hurts! But we must remember that pain is only felt where there is life, and where there is life is just the place where death is needed. Our Father wastes no time by cutting into parts which are already dead. Do not misunderstand me; He wants you to live abundantly, but this can only be accomplished by allowing Him to cut into that fleshly part of you which is still stubbornly clinging to life. Don’t expect God to deal with those vulgar, wicked desires which you renounced forever when you gave yourself away to Him. That part of you is already dead. But, He will deal with the parts of you that are still alive. He might even test your faith with restrictions and trials of all kinds.
"Should you resist? Certainly not! You must learn to suffer all things! The death of self must be voluntary, and it can only be accomplished as far as you allow. Anyone who resists death and repels its advances shows that he is not willing to die. You must be willing to yield to the will of God whenever He decides to remove from you all of the props on which you have leaned.”
~ Letter #4 from “Let Go” by Francois Fenelon
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January 11th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
This was a very challenging truth that encouraged me.As I read through this post this morning, a passage that has meant a lot to me came to mind.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”
John 12:24-26
As we die to ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus, it is then that He can work through us that which He desires. That is when fruit will be produced.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
THANK YOU, Brittany! I was very challenged and exhorted by reading your post! Thank you for sharing “The Death to Self” letter. I was immensely blessed by it!
There is so much truth in this verse, and I can testify to that. It reminded me of the command of Christ to deny yourself, and the verse from Luke 9:24 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it.” When I look back, I can see how when I tried to save my life (as I thought best!) by holding on to my plans and affections and desires, I was losing it. But when I let go, “lost” my life, and died to it, I “found” it and gained more of Christ. Yes, it was hard and not at all easy. But oh what joy and fulfillment it brought! As the letter from Francois Fenelon stated, this “death” is really a blessing in disguise. The blessings that have come from dying to self are just incredible! Dying to self continues to be an ongoing process for me. “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” II Corinthians 4:10
January 12th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
What a wonderful challenge this morning! Death to self was so vividly explained, and the Lord convicted me of areas in my life that I have not fully “died” to.
“Pain is only felt where there is life, and where there is life is just the place where death is needed.” Very insightful point! This can be a caution sign to things I have not died to. So if I find myself reacting to someone, perhaps I have not died to my own desires to respond as I please (even when my way seems to be the most sensible!). After all, a dead person doesn’t worry about how others treat him, nor does he have expectations of others!
Truly it is hard to die to self – to give up my own desires and expectations. But oh how I want the rich, abundantly fruitful life that God has for those who are willing to sleep in His will! God’s will is certainly what we would choose if we knew all the facts!
Looking back, I can remember a time when God brought a Godly young woman into my life that was a great spiritual encouragement to me – someone who I could share my burdens with and look up to for counsel. It was very painful to me when she moved away from very close to us and then began making decisions that were contrary to her Godly parents’ wishes. I see now that God wanted me to die to this friendship. I was looking to her more than to God, and He graciously took her away to place my love back on Him. After that incident, I gave all the friends I had to God. What a fulfilling blessing it has been to focus on making disciples and giving encouragement vs. getting friends to encourage me. And God knows best who to send to encourage us when needed – without us “helping” Him “find” those people! God showed me (at a Journey To The Heart
) the true joys of fellowship with Him when He is my greatest love!
Brittany, thank you for being a vessel of God’s blessing to us!
January 14th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Thanks for sharing from your heart, Brittany. I saw your sweet and precious spirit translated into words and the Holy Spirit used it to comfort today. Thank you for being so transparent.