Love by Denial

Let’s face it – most of us aren’t very good at denying ourselves.  Some are better than others: by sheer will-power, they save their dollars or leave off dessert.  The battle-with-me is ongoing -- it’s just a matter of “which” me wins!

 

From a Puritan prayer: “All my desires have not been gratified, but Thy love denied them to me.”  The key words in this sentence are “Thy love” – instead of “my love.”  There’s no need to deny the struggle; even the Apostle Paul wrote of it: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” (Romans 7:18-20).  The Christian's struggle between his sinful nature and his spiritual nature is very real.  While I detest the struggle, I'm thankful for the struggle; the absence of a struggle may be the absence of the Christ-nature in me! Nonetheless, the victor of the battle is the one who is denied – self or Christ!  Jesus said, "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." (Matthew 16:24).  Consider winning isn’t necessarily about "laying down" as much as it is "taking up!"  True, it's pert-near impossible to take-up something when our hands are already full of selfish things, so laying down is part of it; but the joy and fullness of the Christian life comes when we take-up what Christ has called us to.  Part of that fullness-of-joy is realizing the true "desires of your heart."  The Shepherd knows the intimate needs of His sheep: “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” (Psalm 23).  We must trust Him, be faithful to Him, committing ourselves to Him, delighting in Him (Psalm 37:3-4), and it begins with self-denial, which the Puritan understood and gratefully accepted.  Love-by-denial is God’s way of providing what He knows is best – Love-by-denial is our way of giving God the best of our lives.  Deny yourself today – Love Him completely!