When we talk about “dying to the flesh,” it can sound deep or even a little intimidating. But in simple terms, it means we stop letting the old version of us be in charge. We stop letting pride, fear, selfishness, anger, insecurity, and our own opinions run the show. Instead, we learn how to surrender to God and let His Spirit lead us.
The flesh always wants some kind of credit. It wants to be noticed, praised, defended, and proven right. But God’s presence is pure. There is no room for prideful boasting in His glory. That’s why 1 Corinthians 1:29 says that “no flesh should glory in His presence.” Basically, when we really stand before God, we realize that anything good in us came from Him in the first place.
And honestly, that is how God has always worked. He often chooses the people and things the world overlooks. He uses what people call weak, foolish, lowly, or insignificant so nobody can say, “Look what I did all by myself.” When God uses surrendered people, His power, wisdom, holiness, and love become the focus.
Think about Adam and Eve. When they chose to go against what God said, sin entered the story. That choice disconnected mankind from the life of God, and humanity fell short of His glory. Romans 3:23 reminds us that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But verse 24 gives us the good news: we are made right freely by His grace through Jesus Christ.
God did not just leave us stuck there. He did not leave us trapped in spiritual death or separated from Him forever. He sent Jesus to restore what sin broke. Jesus became our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption. So now, we do not have to live out of our own strength. We get to live from the life of Christ in us.
Living in the glory does not mean acting super religious or trying to look deep. It means being aware that God’s presence is with us and within us. It means choosing His way over our way, His voice over our emotions, and His truth over the lies our flesh tries to tell us.
Sometimes dying to the flesh looks very practical. It looks like forgiving when you would rather stay offended. It looks like staying quiet when your pride wants to argue. It looks like obeying God when comfort wants to talk you out of it. It looks like saying, “Lord, not my will, but Yours.”
And the beautiful thing is, as we let the flesh die, we make more room for His glory to show up through us. His presence starts shaping the way we talk, the way we love, the way we respond, the way we serve, and the way we carry ourselves in the earth. Our lives begin to point people back to Him.
At the end of the day, the goal is not for people to look at us and be impressed by us. The goal is for people to experience God through us. If there is any goodness, strength, wisdom, victory, or glory in our lives, it all points back to the Lord.
So today, let the flesh lose its grip. Let pride bow. Let fear bow. Let self-effort bow. Let every part of us surrender to Jesus. Because the more we get out of the way, the more His glory can be seen.
If anyone boasts, let them boast in what the Lord has done.
Minister A Francine Green I July 2026