Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
(Luke 9:23 NIV)

 

 

It will cost you your comfort zone. It will cost you what the world defines as “balance.”

It will mess you up, change the way you shop, and stop you in the street to pray for the hurting.

It will cause you to talk with strangers and “outcasts” when before you would have walked on by.

It will cost you harder work than you’ve ever known—for no pay.

It will cost you sleep because you will go to the hospital in the middle of the night to pray for a complete stranger.

It will cost you time because it will drive you to your knees to know the author of this ridiculous love. It will drive you crazy if you can’t stay up all night, reading the words He has written out for you, because you are so hungry to know Him more.

It will cause you to move to a new town to change the atmosphere because you know that the atmosphere changer goes with you. You may go to 7-Eleven to pray for strangers because you aren’t satisfied with living in your comfort zone anymore.

It might cost you the comfort of your hometown because you move to Africa or Peru or become the mom of many orphans or mentor a woman being restored.

It will cause you to stop speaking your mind so you can encourage when you see nothing to encourage because you know how God sees people and you know His vision is better than yours.

It will cost you all of your money because you will want to give it all away.

It will cause you to plant churches (or prayer rooms).

It will cause you to believe in miracles when no one else has any hope. You will use your words to bring life because you know that at the very word “Jesus” spoken out of your mouth, sickness, darkness, depression, and demons will flee.

It will cause you to worship Him publicly even when you can’t even sing and speak to a group of 1,000 when you didn’t prepare and don’t know what to say.

It will drive you to stay up late working on homework because you have tasted the fruit of your hard labor.

It may cost you your own dreams and sleep so you can help your sisters meet the dreams God has laid on their hearts.

It will cause you to have ZERO tolerance for slavery, debt, and anything that steals, kills, or destroys, and it will cause you to war day and night over these things.

It will cause you to be sick at what’s going on in this world, and you will refuse to be passive in the pathway of sin.

It will cause you to shine your light from the hilltop. You will never sink into the valley because your God is worthy!

It will cost you time to encourage yourself in the Lord when everyone else is coming against you.

It will cost you ALL of your time because you will seek the Lord so regularly that you don’t know of a moment when you are not in His presence.

It will cause you to overlook mere offenses and see through people to know the motives of their hearts because the author of this great love gives you His eyes.

It will wreck you and change you.
You will never see the same way again.
It will cost you something—really, it will cost you everything.
But what a trade!

What a life! What a blessed life! I wouldn’t trade it!

Love,
~ Sheri