Gospel Submission

How knowing the gospel should help me submit when it's difficult:

1.) It gives me an example of perfect submission in Jesus. I look to my hero and I see Him submitting to His Father's will even when it meant the cross.

2.) It reminds me that my life is not about me. My life is about Jesus Christ. Therefore, what brings me the greatest joy is not when things are easy but when He is glorified.

3.) It has changed my opinion of myself. In the gospel I see myself for who I really am. I am not someone great, someone important. I am a sinner, just like the person who is leading me. If I have knowledge, if I have abilities, they are a gift of God. To act like a know it all, like someone who is better than the person leading me, is anti-gospel.

4.) It helps me have compassion when people are sinning against me because in the gospel I see how much I have sinned against God and how much He has forgiven me.

5.) It frees me up from having to be the most important person in the room. I recognize that I am accepted by God and because of that I don't have to everybody think I am someone really important. I don't have to fight for position. I can be content where God has placed me, because my 'worth' isn't dependent on what people think of me.

6.) It gives me courage. I realize that even if I am in a terrible position, even if things turn out bad, eventually they are going to turn out good - if not here, in heaven. I look at the cross and see how Jesus' submission at first might have looked like a failure, but God had a plan and He has taken that terrible tragedy and turned into the greatest triumph ever. If He can do something like that with Jesus, I can be confident He can do that with my difficult situations. Plus, I know He is for me. On top of that, I know He sees it all. One better, I know that He loves it when His people do what's right even when it's difficult if they do it because they love Him.

7.) It has changed my purpose in life. To follow Christ, I have made a decision to deny myself. When I have to submit, I have a great opportunity to do just that. I can go back to the decision I made when I became a Christian and remember, that submitting is just a practical implication of that initial decision. I am saying when I submit, I am not my own Lord. I submit because Jesus is Lord, my life is His, and I exist to do what He wants.

(If you have any others, please share...)