“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

This Lenten season I have decided to use the above verse as a daily mantra to remind myself that my biggest obstacle to a personal relationship with Jesus is not something external, but me. Lately, I’ve been going through what I would consider to be a drought in my relationship with God. It’s not bad. It just feels stagnant. I think we all go through times where we feel we’re really moving towards God and times where we’re either moving away or standing still. When you’re in those times of little to no growth, it is wise to examine the cause. Sometimes there is no particular reason. All relationships have seasons of heavy growth and then seasons of little growth. But it can also be a symptom of a roadblock that you’ve put between yourself and God.

I realized mine just the other night. I often still come to God with the attitude of “what can you do for me” instead of “what can I do for you”. Many times I treat God as the servant and myself as the master, when it needs to be the other way around. I think this is a common problem. Humans are naturally selfish creatures. How often do our prayers involve asking for our will to come true without even stopping to ask whether it is God’s will? The more we take our eyes off our own will, the clearer we’re able to see God’s will. What roadblocks are keeping you from moving closer to God that you can work on tearing down during Lent this year?

Walking the Path – A Christian Poem For Lent

Today my journey begins.
I will walk the winding path
That you have set before me.
I will leave behind the comforts of yesterdays –
The stability of life without unforeseen change
Where I am the captain of my soul,
The master of my destiny,
And the ruler of my fate.
But now I leave the wide, empty fields
And enter through the narrow gate –
Where I depart from my crumbling kingdom
And admit that I’m not fit to rule.
I choose to become a servant of your will
And refuse to feed mine any longer.
I choose to be weak
And in the process grow stronger
With every piece of me that gets replaced with you.
I don’t know where you will lead me.
And if I’m honest, I’m terrified
Because every inch of my mind
Is telling me that it’s foolish
To venture into the unknown with
Only faith as my guide.
But my heart knows that faith is more than enough
And when the road gets tough,
You’ll be there by my side.
My spirit soars singing
That I shall be released,
As soon as I find that I’ve lost myself
And discover that you have increased.

-Poem Written by Justin Farley

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photo credit: Nebel via photopin (license)