No doubt, you know a few of these believers or so-called believers, I should say. If you cut them open, all you will find on the inside of them is themselves. And more’s the pity because, in us, there is no good thing, as the Apostle Paul assures us. Not only does he tell us, he says that he knows it for himself; he has personal experience that there is nothing good in himself. Perhaps that is why he learned to empty himself of himself.
As we come to the end of another year, reflect. Because if self is all you have on the inside, you are truly in a sorry state. As someone once said, if we were to buy you and then sell you, we could make a lot of profit. The reason is that you believe you are worth more than others give you profit for. On the inside of you, you are very important. But perhaps to God, you are not really worth much, and not only because heaven is the inverted version of earth. You know, in heaven, the first shall be last and the last first, etc.
The other reason is that when you are full of yourself on the inside, you have no room for God. You become arrogant and that causes God to resist you. That is what we see in 1 Peter 5.5. “Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility. Because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Empty Yourself Of Self
Right there is the crux of the Christian matter. You know how, when Jesus humbled Himself to the death on the cross, God exalted Him? An absence of humility is another way of saying there is nothing but self on the inside of you. Until you learn to humble yourself, God resists you. As long as you are full of yourself; as long as you are self-important, you are an enemy of God. And to make God not hate you, you must learn to empty yourself of you.
Imagine you want to fill a bucket with water but find it already full of cement or oil. What will you do? You go and look for an empty bucket, right? It is the same way with God. He comes to you and finds there is no space because, on the inside, you are full of you. What does He do? He goes and finds another vessel, this time, an empty one. And then, He starts to fill that one up with Himself and His Holy Spirit.
Before you know it, the one you were looking down on is performing miracles. And you wonder what happened that you who know the scriptures cannot accomplish a fraction of what he is doing. Wonder no more. It is because, on the inside, he has room for God since he is not full of himself. I hope you are not full of yourself because there will be no room for God to do His work through you.
Have Humility On The Inside
One who is full of himself cannot do God’s work. Even if you try to do God’s work, it will be a real struggle instead of a joy. But when God is on the inside of you like He was with David, every battle becomes easy. And just as David had no technology, you may not need technology to accomplish a lot. You may recall he only had five smooth pebbles with which he slaughtered Goliath. That is because he had God on the inside, not only when he went to battle but always.
That is why he was anointed king even though he was not at home during the “anointing service.” When God is with you, victory becomes your life. So, let us ask ourselves: who is on the inside of me? Myself or God? I pray you will let God fill you to overflowing today.
Maranatha!
