Have you ever heard a message, a quote or a word that just sticks with you? It keeps popping up, gnawing at you or even hitting you over the head?

That is what’s been happening to me since August 10th! Yes, I heard a church sermon over two months ago that is still marinating in my brain. I just knew God was trying to tell me something or reveal more in the message.

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?’” (Matthew 16:24-26)

It seems to me that we humans, in our search for success, happiness and satisfaction, tend to believe (and our culture supports the idea) those things come from your career, fame, from your spouse, from your children, from health. It is always outward things that seem to define or satisfy you.

If you are in a toxic marriage, it somehow makes you a bad person. If you have an unprofitable business it makes you a failure. Likewise, if you are in a harmonious marriage or have a profitable marriage, you define yourself through that visible success.

And you cling to it all so tightly because you’re terrified of losing it. You want to protect your income, your relationships, your career, your clothes, your favorite things. You would do anything to keep it all. And the more attachments you have, the more influence others have on us.

This passage is telling you to pay attention to what you attach yourself to. You should feel protective over what you love. But you say you love your favorite restaurant and then say you love your kids or God. Do you really love that favorite food the same way you love your kids?

Instead choose more carefully what you truly hold dear and for the other things, adopt a lighter grip. This keeps your priorities straight!  If you try to hold and protect all of your attachments, you will lose yourself. These attachments begin to act as yoke, tying you down. If you don’t know what a yoke is, it’s a wooden bar that farmers attach to two oxen as they plow a field. One cannot move without the other.

Do you want that to be you? Of course not! It might be high time to untie yourself from a lot of the “things” in your life. They are not your priority! I hope this message impacted you the way it has completely impacted and convicted me lately. Leave me your comments and don’t forget to Like and Share this message with your friends.

If you’re looking for more spiritual revelations, we will be here twice today! Join us on The Dani Johnson Show today at 12 pm ET and again at 7 pm ET. You can tune into the show on either your TV or radio and please remember you can always stream today’s show right on our website.

In great faith,

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