Day 2 - Liz Roh

Is there a specific Bible passage or verse that comes to mind in the context of “Less of Me and More of Him”?

Two passages come to mind regarding the new theme we are applying this year. The first one comes from Proverbs 3:5, which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” There are honestly a lot of things that I strongly hold onto, especially when it comes to my logic and standards on how I should love people. This verse reminds me that because this life isn’t even mine, I have to keep leaning on God and trust that His ways reveal the best way of living a fulfilling and joyful life. His truth sets you free!

The second passage that I have been holding onto lately is from 1 John 5:3, which says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” I realized that being a follower of Christ is to understand how costly this life is, yet also understand that this costly life is so worth it. Although being obedient and walking in humility is difficult, God loves our obedience to Him; it’s His love language! The more I consider how God wants me to live, I understand why John explains to us that obeying God is not burdensome. It’s because living for God is truly such a great privilege and honor. We can wake up every day and rejoice in the God who will always choose to love us and walk with us. 

Briefly explain which areas of your life you find most difficult to surrender to Christ.

Lately, my biggest struggle has been to love those around me, especially my family. My family and I have been adjusting to living with my grandma for the past 4 months, and to be honest, it has been so difficult and burdensome. I would often complain to God because just when I felt like my previous season of difficulty was coming to pass, another wave hit me. I grew tired and it would sometimes make me wonder why God doesn’t allow me to ever have a break. However, reflecting on the verses that I shared, I realized that I grew impatient and frustrated because I tried loving my grandma by leaning on my understanding. And because of that, it made sense that obeying God in this area became super burdensome when it shouldn’t be. 

Share the areas of your life that have shifted from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness.

Despite falling short in loving people the way Christ wants me to, I don’t want this season of discouragement to justify my devotion to God. I am still navigating how to love people well while maintaining boundaries, but I thank God that as I continue to grow, He renews my mind daily, so that He may increase, and that I may decrease. I am also having more faith and joy in my sufferings because I am reminded that He wants to keep refining my character, to be more like Him. Going through hardships reflects that I am His legitimate child, because if I lived a comfortable life with no hardships, how can I possibly grow and be in partnership with the One who suffered and died for us? To be like Christ is to live the life He lived, which was filled with hardships, and I want to walk that path if that means I can put a smile on His face and be with Him forever. Even though life is hard, it is so refreshing and heartwarming to know that when we go through trials, He doesn't leave us to suffer alone. He walks with us through every moment. How precious is His love for us! I want to keep holding onto that so that even when things don't go my way, I can always go back to the fact that it was never about me. 

What are some practical ways you can display Christ to those around you?

One practice I want to keep applying in my life is to be kind and remember that even if people are not treating you the way you want to be treated, there is always a reason and a story. It’s so easy for me to criticize someone based on my first impression or assumptions, but I want to extend grace and always remind myself that I am truly no better than anyone else, because I fall short and I along with everyone else need a Savior.