Day 19
When we are driving and see this big sign above we know what it means. It means halt, that the vehicle that we are driving needs to cease moving. We know what a stop sign means. We know the meaning of many signs while we drive. And yet, we don’t always follow the rules when it comes to driving on the road. We sometimes think that the white around the stop sign means that it is optional; that we really don’t need to follow it. We sometimes think that the rules don’t apply to us. So what do we do to fix that?
We need to die! Yes, you have read this correctly. We need to die, that is, to ourselves. It is not about me, it is about Him. It is all about God and what He wants. See we do not need to be worried about ourselves, nor reliant on ourselves, nor should we be focused on ourselves. What is needed is death to ourselves. “In order to empty ourselves of self, we must die daily to ourselves” (Preparation, for Total Consecration, 65). We have to remember that we are not capable of anything without the help of God. Death is needed to combat ourselves.
What does this death look like: trusting in God rather than ourselves. What we typically do is trust in ourselves, but we truly need to die to ourselves. We need to surrender ourselves over to God and trust that His plan is better than ours. We need to think that we can’t, God can. “If we do not die to self and if our holiest devotions do not lead us to this necessary and fruitful death, we shall not bear fruit of any worth and our devotions will cease to be profitable” (Preparation for Total Consecration, 65). Death is needed for us to live in Him. Death is what is called for so that we can live eternally. In being totally consecrated, we cannot have our own will, rather we need to live in His will.