Self-sacrifice To Finding Your True Self
The blessing of volunteering
Self-help is no help at all; self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.
— Jesus Christ
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This lesson explains, from a spiritual standpoint, how volunteering will help you unlock new levels in your personal and career growth. You can treat yourself to other insightful lessons by visiting the page.My friend
talks about it in her work on career transitions. And I’ve seen it here and there, but her story kind of captures it well: how volunteering can unlock new versions of you, new experiences, and new opportunities on your path of growth.Recently, I was meditating on the words of Jesus in Luke 9:23–26 KJV, and I decided to look it up in the Message version, and boom, the idea of finding your true self through volunteering was opened and reinforced in my mind.
Read it for yourself
Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me, and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I’m leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn’t, you realize, pie in the sky by and by. Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God.”
This is Jesus speaking on self-discovery and growth that are already mapped out in God’s books for you. Aspire to perspire is a thing, IYKYK, and focusing on your self-development is not a bad thing, but when you find yourself in seasons of internal conflict as to which way to grow and what more next is there to this thing called life, you must take the narrow road less travelled—selflessly volunteer yourself or your skills for something.
The bane of human nature is self-centeredness, and usually in seasons when we are desirous of more, our basal instincts tend to drive us to be conservative and major on self-preservation. But on the contrary, that’s not God’s plan for you. To grow, increase, and evolve into a new and higher version of your true self, you must open your heart and hands and look for places, people, organisations, etc. to selflessly pour yourself into. It will definitely not be a walk in the park; it’ll stretch you, but Jesus clearly states that that is His path to your next place of greatness on heaven’s agenda - self-sacrifice.
God created us to be selfless, but the education we got after the fall leads us to be self-centred. Therefore, to find your true self, you must journey back to the path of self-sacrifice. Identify something you have to give—a skill, your time, maybe your money—but more important is your time, skill, and energy, deployed in serving someone or somewhere, selflessly, for a short or long period of time. As you do this, you will gradually find fulfilment and joy in exchange for the internal conflict.
It is that joy and peace that will open up your life to new opportunities (Isaiah 55:12). It will unlock your true self, help you find confidence, and help you get grounded in identifying and embracing your uniqueness and the target audience and market that you were created to impact.
When people gather around a cause to volunteer, it usually unlocks the deepest virtues of their hearts, and such an environment is void of the tension and toxicity that pollute the creative juices of your life. It is in that atmosphere of selfless service and shared camaraderie that you will begin to see deeper into your own soul and intuitively analyse your strength and the real value you bring to people’s lives.
As you process this whole experience and data moving around in your mind it will create enlightenment for you on some things you need to do and how to better organise yourself for the next thing on God’s agenda for your progress.
Another good thing about volunteering is that as you step out of your regular headspace of work into another environment of selfless service, there is a psychological shift that comes with the breath of freshness in the new environment. Your current work and internal environment are like a stuffy room, but once you open the “window and doors” and step out to give a hand to others, freshness comes in, and your brain will make new neural connections and begin to whip up creativity as it exercises itself to learn new things and make character adjustments in preparation for a new season. This new place may be a bittersweet experience but know that you are following Jesus.
Life is deep and spiritual; your career is not a function of your education, certificates, skills, and experience alone. You are made for more, and you can only unlock and offer that degree of “more” by constantly evolving and finding deeper dimensions of your true self through the self-sacrificing process of volunteering—giving voluntarily of yourself with no strings attached to the receiver(s).
Giving (volunteering your skills) is one major key to unlocking your full potential. It might seem unrelated at first, but when the Rewarder comes knocking, you will see all the dots connected, and it will all make sense that your self-sacrifice is God’s way of opening you up to receive more of life’s goodness.
THANK YOU!
I’m sending a shout-out and THANK YOU to you citizens of The Branch Community. Thank you for reading this post and sharing it on different platforms. Our subscribers’ list has steadily been growing, and it’s all because of your likes, shares, restacks and engagement. You guys are the MVPs, thank you!
I want to scream😂
If there was an emoticon that would release a sound of me howling, that's exactly what I would use to describe how grateful I am. I cannot remember the exact person that recommended The Branch Letters to me but God has used you to bless so many people but for me, it's showers of blessings.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. I was trying to explain the joy and peace of volunteering to a special friend some days ago but I didn't have many words to speak because I didn't want to be defensive. Then tada, my inbox had been waiting for me.
Thank you, Mr Osoba🎉🎉🎉🎉
God bless your heart, mind and hands. P.S.: I'm blushing intensely.
Oh my goodness, I’m not sure how I missed this. Thank you so much Joel!!!