I once wrote, the act of dying doesn’t hurt.  I am learning it does, when you die, while you are still living.  What in the world am I saying?  I thought I had fully surrendered everything to God, and then I moved to the Philippines following his direction.  Now, he is requiring more of me.  To give up my self-reliant attitude.  Living in a foreign country, where they speak some English, but not fluently, and I only know about 12 Tagalog words.

Now I am reliant on others to help me know what is being said, where to go to purchase basic needs, etc.  I am not used to this, nor do I like it very much.  I have grown accustomed to doing what I want, how I want which I think is very productive and effective.  I’m dying.  I believe God is asking me to give up, give in, and give way to his Holy Spirit.  To be humble, ask for help, and when things don’t go as I think they should, to smile graciously and be thankful that someone cares enough to try to help me.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV)

Do I have to die?  No.  I can go on living as I am and probably hurt more people along the way.  God is most likely removing this from me, so when the next chapter in my life starts, I will be ready.  In that case Lord, kill me.

Copyright © 2019 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.