Serving Jesus Is Not Convenient

 

Jesus specializes in changing the course of your life.  He comes in and radically transforms things.  Before you sign on the dotted line, Jesus makes it quite clear that serving Him should never be about convenience.

He tells us up front like He told the disciples in Mathew 16:24, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.

I must be willing to give up my agenda, what I think I deserve, and how I think my life should turn out.

I must be willing to give up my “right” to pursue whatever pleases me and instead seek His face and respond in obedience to His directives.

I must be willing to say yes to what doesn’t make sense but trust that He knows best.

I must be willing to take risks as He leads and not let comfort and playing it safe be my blankets.  These blankets can suffocate the purpose of God for my life

I must be willing to let go of relationships that will take me off the narrow path.

IT IS NOT ABOUT ME!  It is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me (Galatians 2:20)

Carrying around a cross is not about convenience, it is about a willingness to sacrifice and to suffer.    A willingness to DIE…

A willingness to say not my will but your will be done.

 However, I must remember that  Jesus followers’ story never ends with the cross.  The cross is the pathway to glory.  The cross makes way for resurrection of the dead… the supernatural to take place in my life.

My suffering, my death, and my being inconvenienced births the POWER OF GOD in my life!  One that gives me power over all the powers of the enemy.  A mountain moving power!

Resurrection then opens the door to ascension and ultimately promotion.

Lord help me to say yes to being inconvenienced, knowing that when I lose I gain.  How about you, are you committed to being inconvenienced?  Do you struggle with this truth?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

 

2 Timothy 11-14 (NKJV)

 This is a trustworthy saying:

If we die with him,
we will also live with him.
If we endure hardship,
we will reign with him.
If we deny him,
he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is.

 

 

 

 

Anika Jones

About the Author

Anika Jones

Anika Jones is a speaker and author of the book Lessons Learned Along The Way: A 40 Day Devotional. She blogs about faith and family at LivingForLater.com and posts weekly videos on her YouTube channels, Living For Later (@livingforlater) and Living Life Now (@livinglifenow). Anika loves speaking about developing intimacy with God and understanding who we are in Christ. She serves alongside her husband in ministry. They live in Illinois with their 6 children.