Hard

The seasons of life are threaded together by high times and hard times. The great joys that come with relationships, weddings, and a baby’s entrance into the world, are woven together with low times. Broken relationships lead to broken hearts. Death of dreams disappoints.

Laziness is addressed in the New Testament as well. The apostle Paul demonstrated hard work among the Ephesians and explained to the church leaders that wages earned by working hard should be generously shared with those in need. Paul reminded the Ephesians of Jesus’ words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:34-35).

So, follow hard after God! Dream big dreams for him! Make big plans! God is more than capable of turning our desires in his direction.

When I understand and accept that I am a part of God’s story, I will not spend my life working for food that spoils. Instead, I will invest in eternal things because I know God’s story is an eternal one.

God’s unconditional love means that I can do nothing to make him love me more; there is nothing I can do to make him love me less.

Even when obedience is hard, even when the journey is painful, even when we don’t understand, even when the nights are dark and long, there is no one else to turn to, and there is no other place to go. Only Jesus has the words of eternal life.

You can make the spiritual life as mystical as you want to, but growth comes down to two things: The Spirit’s control and common sense. It’s that simple … and that hard.

What do you need to surrender to God, your Master?

Everyone who truly wants to follow hard after Jesus must come to a place of surrender.