Dying to Self: Are You Dead Yet?
"Dying to Self"--author unknown
When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught,
And you don’t sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight,
But your heart is happy being counted worthy to suffer for Messiah,
THAT IS DYING TO SELF!
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed,
Your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed,
And you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself,
But take it all in patient, loving silence,
THAT IS DYING TO SELF!
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, and irregularity, and unpunctuality,
Or any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance,
Spiritual insensibility…and endure it as Yeshua endured it,
THAT IS DYING TO SELF!
When you are content with any food, any offering, and raiment, any climate,
And society, and solitude, any interruption,
By the will of God,
THAT IS DYING TO SELF!
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works,
Or itch after commendation,
When you can truly love to be unknown
THAT IS DYING TO SELF!
When you can see your brother prosper, and have his needs met, and can honestly
Rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy not question God,
While your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances,
THAT IS DYING TO SELF!
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself,
And can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or
Resentment rising up within your heart,
THAT IS DYING TO SELF!
Are you dead yet? In these last days the Spirit would bring us to the Cross.
“That I may know Him…being made conformable to His death”