There is a version of following Jesus that sounds pretty easy. Follow Jesus and He’ll give you peace.
Follow Jesus and He’ll bless you.
Follow Jesus and He’ll make your life better. There is truth in those statements.
But Jesus also said: Follow Me - and bring a cross.
Jesus never hid the cost of discipleship. He told people upfront: Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow Me.
That’s where Christianity moves beyond believing something about Jesus and becomes actually following Him. And eventually, following Him will cost you something.
Obedience Gets Real When It Costs You
It’s easy to obey God when His direction matches what we already wanted. Give when we’re feeling generous. Go when we already wanted to leave. Stay when we’re comfortable. Forgive when the wound wasn’t very deep.
But what happens when God’s direction collides with ours? Stay when you want to leave. Leave when you want to stay. Give when you want to keep. Forgive when they haven’t apologized. Speak when silence would be safer. Wait when everything inside you wants to move.
That’s when obedience becomes surrender. Because eventually every follower of Jesus reaches a moment when God’s will and our desires pull in different directions.
And in that moment, somebody gets to be Lord.
The Cross Changes the Question
We’ve become comfortable with the cross. We wear it around our necks. We put it on church walls. We decorate our homes with it.
But nobody listening to Jesus in Luke 9 thought of jewelry when He said, “Take up your cross.” They thought of death.
So when Jesus said to deny yourself and take up your cross, He was making a radical invitation: Give Me the right to lead your life.
That changes the question. Instead of asking: “What do I want?” A disciple begins asking: “Jesus, what do You want?”
And sometimes His answer is expensive. It may cost your comfort. Your pride. Your plans. Your money. Your reputation. Your need to be right. Your desire to control the outcome.
We can sing, “I surrender all,” but eventually God gives us an opportunity to discover whether we meant it.
Some Yeses Hurt
One of the most dangerous ideas we can believe is that if something is difficult, it must not be God. Tell that to Abraham. Tell that to Moses. Tell that to Esther. Tell that to Paul.
And ultimately, look at Jesus in Gethsemane. “Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Luke 22:42 NKJV
Jesus didn’t pretend the cup was easy. He surrendered anyway.
Sometimes obedience brings immediate joy. Other times obedience hurts before we understand what God is doing. Difficulty doesn’t automatically mean you missed God. Sometimes it’s difficult because you’re obeying Him.
So perhaps the question today isn’t: “God, why is this so hard?” Maybe it’s: “Jesus, will I still obey You if this stays hard?”
Let’s Get Personal
Is there something God has already been speaking to you about? Something you’ve been praying about when, deep down, you already know what He wants? Sometimes we keep asking God for clarity because we don’t like the cost of the answer He has already given us.
Read that again. The problem may not be clarity. The problem may be cost.
So today, don’t ask God to make obedience cheaper. Ask Him to make your surrender deeper.
Today's Challenge
Finish this sentence honestly: “I would obey God if it didn’t cost me __________.”
What came to mind? Don’t dismiss it.
Take that specific thing to God today and tell Him: “Jesus, if this is what following You requires, I choose You.”
That’s where formation happens. Not when obedience is convenient. When Jesus becomes worth the cost.
5 Around
Someone around you may be wrestling with something God is asking them to do. Send today’s devotion to five people. You may never know what God does with it. Your simple act of sharing could be the encouragement someone needs to finally say yes.
Don’t just be FORMED. Help form someone else.
Prayer
Jesus, I don’t want to follow You only when it’s convenient. Show me where I’ve been negotiating with something You have already made clear. Give me courage to surrender my comfort, plans, pride, and control. When obedience costs me, remind me what You gave for me. Today I choose Your way over mine. Form my heart until obedience matters more than comfort. In Jesus’ name, amen.