His Will

All of Jesus in Me = A Life Well-Lived

He said to them all: “If anyone would come after me,

he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23

Japanese beetles send out scouts to gardens. The scouts take their time munching leaf after leaf, devouring hard work, then they return to their friends announcing that they’ve found a good garden to infest. Their friends follow them back to the garden, and it is destroyed in a matter of days.

What does it take to deny ourselves and take up our crosses daily? To have our hearts fully aligned with Jesus? And what does that have to do with Japanese beetles?

To keep our garden healthy, I have to kill Japanese beetles, or they will destroy it quickly. If I kill the scouts (the first ones to the garden), then the others are discouraged from coming back.

I crush the little destroyers with my garden gloves, and they’re not easy to kill. They will keep coming back until they know you’re serious about purging them. Their scent (after dying) warns other beetles to stay away.

That’s how I feel about pride—about denying ourselves and taking up our crosses. I need to pulverize my pride, crush it, ensure it’s truly dead, and do it early on—daily, so that Christ can have all of me. So that I can hear and follow Him with everything I’ve got.

It’s an unnatural thing to desire another’s glory over your own. Even when you find the pious person who is continually giving glory to God, there can be pride in one’s ability to do this. Pride is sneaky and nasty. Like Japanese beetles—it will destroy the beautiful garden. God delights in planting a beautiful garden of good works, which He prepared in advance for us to do, so that we will bring Him glory.

Jesus Christ is seeking those who want to follow Him. It’s worth everything to deny ourselves and take up our crosses daily. To stamp out pride early on and rest in His grace, pursuing His good and perfect will over ours. Glory to God always and forever. Amen.

 It’s encouraging and healing to record in your journal what happens when we make these powerful exchanges. (Here’s a pretty journal)

I stamp down my pride in exchange for Jesus and receive . . . . Confidence.

I stamp down my fear in exchange for Jesus and receive . . . . . Faith.

I stamp down my worry in exchange for Jesus and receive . . . .Freedom

I stamp down my doubt in exchange for Jesus and receive . . . . Trust.

I stamp down my will in exchange for Jesus and receive . . . God’s will done in me.

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