There was a man in the Bible named John. He was a cousin to Jesus and was born a few months before Him. He was born with one specific purpose in mind. He prepared people’s hearts to meet Jesus. He preached about Jesus everywhere He went and pointed them to Him. One day, John’s followers learned that Jesus was baptizing more people than John was. They went to John a bit frustrated and complained about this discovery. John’s reply must have been shocking to them. He said, “He must become greater, I must become less.”

Until you decided to follow Jesus, you have been sitting on the throne of your own life. When there was a decision to make, you made the decision that was best for you. Now that you are following Jesus and He has become your Savior, the next step is to make Him your Lord and allow Him to sit on the throne of your life. He is not your co-pilot, He is your pilot.

Sometimes that will mean that He will lead you to make decisions that don’t feel natural, because they don’t seem like they are in your best interest. For example, He may encourage you to forgive someone who has hurt you. He may encourage you to go the extra mile when you want to go another way. He may encourage you to be generous when you don’t really want to. It’s in those moments that we have to remember John’s words. He must increase and become greater. In other words, what God wants in that moment is more important than what you may want. It’s not always easy, but it is always worth it.