Are you confused? Or just afraid to obey?

Today’s post is adapted from the November 26th, 2019 NewLife blog.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish…'  In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:28-30, 33)

What price would you be willing to pay to experience more of the love, joy, peace, and fullness of God in your life?

Honestly, that question frightens me. Even though I know in my head that God is good, that He is the pearl of great price that is worth selling everything for, I still have a great deal of fear when it comes to following Him. Specifically, I am afraid to give things up, afraid that it will not be worth the sacrifice. I think that many of us struggle with our faith, wondering where God is and what He wants of us. What if the answer is really simple, but our issue is not really a lack of understanding but rather a lack of willingness to do what He wants us to do? For example:

What if, in response to your lack of love and passion for God, the answer was to fast for a week, telling the Lord through your actions that you want Him more than food? Would you do it? What about for one day? One meal?

What if, in response to feeling like your faith has lost its zeal, the answer was for you to take your Saturday morning or an evening during the week to volunteer in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter? Or to take a couple of Sundays every other month to teach Sunday School?  

What if the answer to your anxiety about finances was to give away more and live on less?

What if the solution to your purposelessness was to stop working for a paycheck and start working to serve others?

What if your life would change for the better by putting down your phone, turning off the television, and carving out the space to spend time with other people?

What if the reality is that all our hearts truly desire is right there for us in God, but we have already counted the cost and decided He’s not worth it?

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.” (Isaiah 55:1-3)