Some of the most uncomfortable work God does in us is not exposing the things we already know are wrong.
It is revealing what may be hiding beneath the things we believe are good.
We can do the right thing, serve people, show up faithfully and still be motivated by pride, approval, control or the desire to see ourselves as a good.
That is what makes the deeper work of sanctification so humbling.
God doesn’t only examine what we do. He searches the heart behind it.
Because when we allow Him to show us the depth of why we do the “good things,” we may discover motives we did not realize were there.
So, having pride in being a “good person” can be one of the greatest forms of deception, because pride itself is something God hates.
See Isaiah 64:6 says that “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”
That is why Jesus is the answer.
Our goodness cannot save us.
Our righteousness cannot save us.
Even the good we do has to be surrendered to Him.
We must decrease so that He can increase.
John 3:30
Every day, I understand more and more what Jesus meant when He said:
“For without Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5
The deeper I go with God, the more I realize that sanctification is not just about changing what we do.
It is allowing Him to continually purify the heart behind it.
And this is the work of a lifetime.
There is no point on this side of eternity where we get to say, “I’ve arrived.”
There will always be more of ourselves to surrender, more of our hearts for God to search and more of Christ to become visible in us.
We keep decreasing. He keeps increasing. ✝️
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