God often asks us to do hard things. In fact, as true followers of Jesus, we'll be doing hard things all the time. In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."
It's hard to deny yourself. It's hard to take up a cross. It's hard to live like Jesus did. It's hard to keep a passion for justice ablaze permanently and not just for a short time. It's hard to love someone who shows you no love in return. It's hard to stand for what is right when no one else is. It's hard to keep praying when it seems like your prayer is going unanswered. It's hard to be kind and polite to that person who's rude to you. It's hard to let go of what you want to do so that you can serve someone else. It's hard to speak the truth that no one wants to hear. It's hard to forgive someone who hurt you. It;s hard to be joyful when things don't go the way you wanted them to. It's hard to be unselfish and serve when no one sees and no one says thank you. It's just hard. Actually, it's impossible. But God is calling us to live this impossible life. It's not about obeying a list of rules. It's that we love Jesus and He says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments," John 14:15. But we can't. No matter how hard we try, we'll never be able to. In our own strength, we can't. But God is not asking us to do these things in our own strength. He never gives us commands without also enabling us to obey them. He wants to give us His strength. He wants to fill us with His power and do through us what we could never do on our own. "Without Me, you can do nothing," Jesus says in John 15:5. And as Corrie ten Boom once said, "When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds." When we have Jesus Christ living inside us, we have the power to live a life that would otherwise be impossible. We will become people who love and serve our families, pray and keep praying because we know God will answer, do justly, love mercy, walk humbly, rescue the oppressed, stand for what is right, no matter the cost, share the gospel... to put it simply we reflect Jesus Christ in every area of our lives and we will do it all, as C.T. Studd says, "with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts." No, these things will not save us; what we do will not get us to heaven, as some people believe. We are saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ. It is His atoning work on the cross that rescues us from sin and death. But when we give our lives to Jesus Christ, we can't go on living the same way anymore. Our lives now belong to Him and the way we live should reflect that. No, we won't do it perfectly. We'll make mistakes. And when we do, we'll seek His grace and start again. So, let us go and live this impossible life, not in our own strength, but in His. "'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4:6
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Hi! I'm Savannah Jane...I'm the author of several books for children and young adults with a passion to encourage young people to live for Jesus. The third born in an amazing family of seven children, I was homeschooled all the way through. This is where I share encouragement for Christian girls, updates about my books, writing tips, book and movie reviews, and assorted other tidbits. Archives
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Quote"When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds."
-Corrie ten Boom I'm on GoodReadsFollow my family's writing, illustrating, and publishing business/ministry.Follow my blog on Bloglovin' |