Have you counted the cost?

Have you counted the cost? 

There have been plenty of days where I’d find myself struggling to put God’s desires for my life above my own. It’s a daily challenge that we can’t avoid as Christ followers. It’s not something that you can just decide to opt in or out of whenever you want. The moment we decided to follow Jesus, we also signed up to allow Him to take control of our lives in different ways and sacrifice our desires to make way for His own. Praise God for that because His ways always turn out to be far greater than ours….it’s just too bad that we often forget that truth. It’s one thing to stumble here and there with this challenge of carrying our own cross, but it’s another thing when it becomes our norm. 

This makes me question whether we have truly counted the cost of following Jesus. 

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”  -Luke‬ ‭14‬:‭26‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus suffered so much humiliation, scrutiny, and pain through His earthly ministry to form the path for salvation and He accomplished it. He deserves to be the number one priority and standard that we live by. For this sentiment to be a reality, we must make a self-reflection and recognize the areas, things, and even people in our lives that we have ever put over our love for God. Just to make it clear, Jesus isn’t calling you to actually  grow a sense of hatred for your mother, father, siblings, kids, significant other, etc. That would go against his commands for us to honor our mothers and fathers as well as the overall sentiment of walking in love for those around us. What He is saying is that no love we have should ever surpass our love for our Lord. 

This is just one of the many sacrifices that we must inevitably make through the course of our lives, but the good part is that He has given us so many ways to make this challenge possible to bear. He’s blessed us with community to help is through the tough seasons and walk life with together in accountability to each other. He’s given us his Holy Spirit who gives us wisdom in situations, and empowers us to overcome any obstacle that stands in our way. He’s given us His word that nourishes our soul and helps us understand His character and truth to stand on in our battles. As you start to count the cost of what it truly means to follow Jesus and reflect on the challenges that has brought to your life, remind yourself of this…

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”  -John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.” ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”  -2 Thessalonians 3:3 ESV