No one that I know has a big desire to die. We are all so busy living life and doing things that we sometimes lose our focus and our biggest desire should be to die. Not physically, not taking your last breath and planning the funeral or last wishes. No, I am talking about dying to our own desires and letting God’s desires and purpose for us to take precedent. If we believe He is a good Father, then we should also believe that His plans are best for us. Thus, if we want God’s best, then we have to die to our own desires and plans and get in step with God’s. No matter how good we think our plans are, God’s will always be better. One line in this devotional really stood out to me: Jesus could not have been resurrected without being crucified first. We cannot have a new life without turning the old one over to God, completely and without any reservations. Our invitation is to die, but the result is a new life that is better than we could ever imagine.

Dying to Live

Dying to ourselves can feel like a bad thing. Most people want to exalt, applaud, and promote themselves.

But in God’s kingdom, dying to ourselves is essential.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.”
Galatians 2:20 NIV

A lump of clay cannot become a work of art unless it is shaped into something else. A container of paint cannot be used for a masterpiece unless it is first poured out. A carbon deposit must change in order to become a diamond. A caterpillar must give up its old way of life in order to become a magnificent butterfly.

The invitation to die is actually an invitation to live.

When we give our lives to God, we’re choosing to surrender our plans, our desires, and our gifts. And that can be hard. But we also know there is something better—and Someone better—on the other side.

God can realign our plans, reshape our desires, and repurpose our gifts for His glory.

The apostle Paul, the author of Galatians, knew firsthand the life-changing power of Christ. Christ’s power radically transformed Paul from someone who persecuted believers, into a passionate follower of Jesus.

Because of that experience, Paul knew that the only way to live was by surrendering every area of His life to Christ. And that’s why he invites us to do the same.

Jesus couldn’t have been resurrected without first being crucified—and the same is true for us.

So what do you need to give to Jesus today? What behavior, habit, or thought do you need to “crucify”? Come as you are to Jesus, and give Him permission to transform and renew your life.