My time to die

“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Luke 9:23 ESV

The topic of death is never an easy one to discuss, especially at the start of a new year, but it’s needed. The finality of death and dying causes us to reflect on how we’ve mismanaged relationships, time, and resources in the past. We begin comparing them with how we’d handle them with the knowledge we now have. We aspire to create unregrattable moments as we strive to build a full, zestful life; but in order to do that, we must embrace the fact that we must die. We all have a piece of us that stands in the way of our goals, dreams and hopes we’ve kept in the secrecy of our hearts. Moments of deficiencies where we didn’t (fill in the blank) enough for that desire to materialize. It doesn’t matter what your chasing, confronting, neglecting and killing if it’s void of the version of ourselves that keep us “safe”. What we fail to realize is that sometimes being safe is an execution chamber of our dreams and growth.

I told myself that this year, I’m preparing to die simply because I want to get out of my own way. But, I can’t do that if I’m still feeding what cripples me. The side that hates discipline and control just as much as risks and the threat of change that shales my comfort is nerve wrecking. In my prayer concerning this, The Holy Spirit reminded me that we die to our own desires everyday to follow Christ. In the same way that I’ve died to other preferences and cravings, I can continue to abandon those areas of life to follow Christ as well. My mind went back to how I did it. How did I manage to become unresponisve to what I used to cater my days around? After researching the indicators of physical death, it was easy to match my experiences with them and here we have this post. (for the sake of time and your eyes, I’ll only go over one sign of deathy/dying.)

Loss of appetite

What we crave exposes our habits, preferences, and dependencies. It’s our motivating force to pursue what satisfies us. Think about the last craving you had. Whether you were inspired by a commercial or remembering how good the food tastes, the thought alone moves us to place an order and arrange the delivery or pickup.

Appetite, as we all know, goes far beyond entrees and snacks. It dwells in our relationships, entertainment, and every aspect of our lives. The same way a man disrupts his rest to satisfy the cravings of his pregnant wife, are we propelled to changing the course of our peace and rest to chase after satisfaction. What does that look like for you? How are your various appetites threatening your future for the quiet of now?

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 6:11

Low energy is needed to die; Makes perfect sense. As the body is slowly shutting down, there’s no need for a burst of energy to maintain high-functioning processes. The loss of appetite contributes to the slowing of blinking eyes as muscles relax. My point here, as dramatic as it may be, is that the body is taking a new direction and things can’t afford to go the way they’ve been in order for death to come. Whether it’s overcoming a bad habit or getting closer to Christ, we must identify and starve or feed whatever is standing in the way of that. Starving what inhibits us, isn’t a safe guarded secret, it’s abstaining from people, places and things that help us achieve what we’re subject to. It’s not easy, but take time to write down. What part of you would you like to starve? What part you’d like to feed? Whatever will starve the problem will automatically feed the goal. Make plans of action and be accountable to yourself. You owe God, yourself and those you’re called to serve, the best version of you! You can be that exactly who god called you to be but it does take your effort. This is bigger than a new year’s resolution, it’s your life. Go live it!

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” – Romans 13:14

References:

Stages of death (physical: Stages of Death: 7 Signs That Dying Is Imminent (omnicarehospice.com))