Society is seemingly suffering from an identity crisis. There is a war of ideologies that is taking place on a cultural, national, global, and in many instances even a local plain. Within the realm of these crises are scores of people who are simply lost in the pursuit to fill the void resident within their soul.
Everyone, it seems, is searching for themselves. People from all walks of life are looking for their niche in an increasingly abstract world. They are looking to define themselves…to set themselves apart from or conform themselves to the prevailing spirits of this age. In this pursuit, they are looking for answers and are being told that the cure for crises lies somewhere within themselves.
Self help books are flying off of the shelves of the literary marketplace. Improving self esteem is the catch phrase in many circles. Self promotion rules the political and entertainment landscapes. It seems that self indulgence has become the prevailing pursuit of mankind in general. It would serve every Christian well to remember that the only “self” that Jesus ever spoke of was “self denial.”
Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
The Bible is replete with paradoxical statements, the premises of which are a conundrum to the carnal mind. It was utterly perplexing to many among the multitudes who listened to the words of Jesus as he preached paradoxes unto them.
Christ preached words like “whosoever will compel you to go one mile, go with him two…Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” In the same paradoxical manner, while it may go against the grain of fleshly desire and human logic, in order to find our identity, we must first deny and lose ourselves.
Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Lose Yourself at the Altar…
Noah was a man anointed by God to build an ark. Instructed by the Lord to pitch it within and without, Noah constructed a vessel that was not only seaworthy, but able to weather the greatest of storms. Forty days and forty nights in the deep were survived because this man of God had attended to his vessel, not simply concerned with its appearance without, but also with its health within. However, when the rain subsided, Noah did not bask in the shadow of a formidable vessel that had survived the storm. Rather than finding pleasure in his accomplishments, He first built an altar. Noah lost himself at an altar.
Find Yourself in the Word…
Boarding Simon’s ship on the lake of Gennesaret, he was met by a man tired and worn out from his own pursuits in the deep. After speaking to the multitudes, Jesus looked at Simon and said, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
Luk 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
Simon’s personal pursuits of the night had come to naught. Perhaps frustrated at his own insufficiency, Simon had the faith to state, “Nevertheless at thy word…” It was at that moment of losing himself in the Word of Jesus that great blessing came into his life.
Lose Yourself in the Spirit…
With the exception of John, every disciple of Jesus Christ died a cruel martyr’s death at the hands of those who despised the Gospel. Though not martyred for the cause of the kingdom, it was on Patmos, John’s intended killing place…the island upon which he had been left to die, that he penned the words,
Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day…
It was in that killing place that there was revelation given to John. Even in the place which should have been the very cause of his death and much personal despair, rather than live life out in despondency, John lost himself in the Spirit.
Lose Yourself in Worship…
Brought before the high priest and the elders in Acts 24, Paul had the opportunity to denounce and deny the declarations of faith that had placed him before the court on that day. Rather than turning his back upon Truth and perhaps walking out a free man, Paul stated,
Act 24:14 …after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers…
For many, self preservation would have ruled the moment. However long ago, Paul had lost himself in worship of One who was greater than he. Standing on that day unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation, Paul refused to recant because he had lost himself in worship.
So you are trying to find yourself? The answer is to lose yourself in the altar, in the Word, in the Spirit, and in worship. In the midst of a society that is trying to find itself, dare to be different. Lose yourself and seek after Him.
Psa 42:1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
—Jonathan Sanders
