Is Following God Hard?
I wrote this in my journal the other day — following the Lord is hard. Since then, I’ve been considering those words. Is it actually hard? Should it be? Before we get stuck too far down the rabbit hole, let’s take a look at what the Bible says.
In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees and religious leaders were the definition of legalism. They had rules about rules. Everything they did was duty and all under the guise of following the Lord their God. Somewhere along the way, they began to place their trust in their works as opposed to in their God. Jesus spent a good bit of time teaching against this.
Paul uses these words in his letter to the Galatians, “And we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law…” (Galatians 2:16). Salvation comes only through believing in the Person and Work of Jesus. Now, Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:16).
The Law, all 613 of them, served to reveal the sinful nature inside us. Its purpose was to show us that we can’t keep it on our own. And here’s the thing, the requirement for sin is blood – death. To rightly view the Law, one must come to the point of understanding the following – what’s required of me is to follow the Law with perfection, and I’m aware that I have broken it, therefore, either I need to die or someone else needs to take my place for I am guilty of sin.
This is where the Good News of Jesus enters center stage. His act of fulfilling the Law was by Him willingly laying down His life for all those who would believe in Him. The Law and the Old Testament sacrificial system was meant to reveal the cost of sin. Jesus, through His death and resurrection, paid the price for that sin on our behalf.
Back to our original question – is following Jesus hard? Friend, when Jesus isn’t what we want, following after Him is the hardest thing in the world. Conversely, when He is truly our desire, regardless of the cost, there’s no other way to live.
I’ve noticed, in my own life, the more I am fixed on Jesus, oriented towards Him in my heart and mind, the easier it is to follow after Him. It’s when I cling to the things of this world that the difficulties bubble forth. I want to leave you with these last two words from Jesus.
First, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). Secondly, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it” (Matthew 16:25).
There’s a cost to following Jesus. It requires your life. Following Jesus is hard when we’re unwilling to let go of control over our life, to let go of the world. But when Jesus becomes our treasure and we’ve given up our lives to be led by Him – it’s here our lives are truly found.
What resonates with you here? A few days after Easter let’s never forget all that Jesus went through in order to give us the opportunity to have a renewed relationship with Him. He is able to meet us exactly where we are. By daily surrendering ourselves to the Lord, we’ll find even through the challenges of life the ease to which we can follow our Lord.
