Mark 4:26-28, “And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.”

In Romans 12:1-2, Paul urges the romans to not be conformed to this world but to renew their minds. The purpose of this is to know the good, acceptable, and the perfect will of God. This process is so important for a believer because in it we find our purpose, joy, peace and every good thing that comes from God. For us to be successful in this process one thing is required; the submission of our will.

Jesus said in John 12:24, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” This is referring to the submission of our will to God’s will. That is what death to self means. Death to self doesn’t mean that suddenly you won’t have selfish thoughts or emotions, what it means is that you will submit those thoughts and emotions to God’s own thoughts and emotions. For us to grow into maturity of what God has planned for us, we must put God’s word and will before our own.

Learning to submit to God is a process. It’s a slow process that goes at your own pace. Some people take long to trust God in other areas like money, but they are quick to trust God when it comes to relationships. The ultimate goal is to trust God in everything in your life. This is what Mark 4:26-28 describes. Progress.