Dying to Live

Sometimes I miss my old life.

Am I allowed to say that out loud?

When we choose to follow God, we’re choosing to leave our old lives behind. Scripture says that to really live, we have to die first — not physically, but spiritually — surrendering the old version of ourselves. Dying to live is about transformation. It’s laying down who we were so new life in Christ can actually take root and grow.

But dying to self isn’t easy. Some days I grieve who I used to be — even knowing that what God offers is better than anything I left behind. Grief doesn’t always mean regret. Sometimes it’s just part of the change.

The truth is, we can’t follow God and keep trying to hold onto our old life at the same time. It just doesn’t work. This isn’t a halfway kind of calling. We weren’t meant to keep circling back to what’s already dead. We weren’t meant to tend graves.

I know that I wasn’t created to live looking backward. Jesus calls me forward. I can’t carry a cross and cling to my past at the same time.

Following Him has meant dying to self again and again — but every surrender has made room for something new. And in that surrender, I’ve found a freedom this world could never give — a steadiness, a peace, a deeper kind of joy.

Jesus said:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” — Luke 9:23–24

Sometimes dying to the old life feels heavy, but I’m learning it’s also where real life begins. God isn’t asking me to give things up just to leave me empty — He’s making space for something better. So even when I feel the ache of letting go, I’ll keep choosing forward. Because resurrection only comes after surrender.