Yet, often we live as though something different is true. We seem to feel and act like He must increase so that we can increase with Him or more accurately perhaps so that we can increase also. Too often behind our service to God is an attitude of look at me! Look what I have done or am doing for God. Just look at how He's using me! Look at how much better I am now than I used to be, as though we had something more than surrendering to do with the miraculous transformation that has occurred in our lives.
The Third Step Prayer includes asking to be relieved of the bondage of self so that we can better do the will of God. Then, after being freed from self, it continues with a request for difficulties to be removed so that victory over those struggles can bear witness of God's power, love and way of life. I think when we find ourselves in a bind and in the midst of difficulty and struggle we all too often skip that first request and jump straight to Lord, remove our difficulties, and when we do we often have the reasons for the request all wrong.
We pray Lord, remove my difficulties so that my life will be easier and hurt less. But if we will remember to first ask for His help in weeding the garden of our heart from the freshly sprouting growths of self we will find that many of our difficulties shrivel as self is removed. And those that don't? Well, then with those we will remember a better motivation for their removal, which is to bring Him glory and shine a light on Him.
The Holy Spirit is also known as the Comforter. God wants to comfort us. He wants to give us relief and peace and joy and for us to be able to experience His love. So telling Him when it hurts and wanting it not to hurt is not wrong.But if we can really get a grip on what it means that He must increase while we decrease, many of our difficulties will not feel nearly as uncomfortable or painful.
Let us seek Him when times get hard, and let us start with asking for the grace to decrease. Daddy remove from me the bondage of self so that whatever You choose to do, either remove my difficulties or help me to walk through them with a right spirit and attitude might give You glory and help others to see the truth of who You are. Help me to remember that the more Your light can shine through me the more transparent I become. Life is not about learning to live in a way that deserves praise but in living in a way that directs the flow of praise where it belongs, to You.
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