How You Will Be Blessed If Jesus Is Everything You Want and Need

Carry your cross. Count the cost. Words that don't sound like Jesus. But He invites His followers to know that when He is what we want we have all we need. #Jesus #BibleStudy #CarryYourCross #CountingMyBlessings #WWGGG

I recently circled these words of David from Psalm 142:

Then I pray to you, O Lord.
I say, “You are my place of refuge.
You are all I really want in life.
Psalm 142:5

The rest of that section of his Psalm says things like . . . “I cry out, I plead, I pour out my complaints and tell Him all my troubles. I look for someone to help me but no one gives me a passing thought.”

And the words before say:

No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me.
Psalm 142:4b

Have you ever felt like David? Lonely? Afraid? Like no one cares?

If so, I want you to know that it is a lie straight from the pits of hell.

You see what David realized in the middle of his prayer is that…

Even if God is all you and I have, we have everything we need!

Jesus came to not only save us but He came to show people that TRUTH! He came to be everything we want and need!

In Luke 14, we have an account of another one of Jesus’ stories:

Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations.
Luke 14:16

But people made excuses. They were busy or they had more important priorities.

They all began making excuses.
Luke 14:18a

So the Master told His servant:

“Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.”
Luke 14:23

After Jesus told them all were invited and all are wanted, He told them…

“But don’t begin until you count the cost.”
Luke 14:28a

Why?

Because He knew the challenges, the rejections, the mocking, the persecution . . . the crosses His followers would have to carry. But He also knew the TRUTH that His ancestor, David, had spoken generations before…

You are all I really want in life.

Because He has promised to give us everything we need when He is all we want.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
Luke 12:31

A Prayer for Jesus to Be
Everything You Want and Need

Thank you Father for your invitation to each of us to turn from our frivolous and less than meaningful lives for an eternal relationship with You that is filled with purpose, peace, and love. Thank you for Jesus who makes it all possible.

He said there is a cost to following Jesus and surrendering my life to You. We may lose popularity, status, and relationships . . . but oh, the wonderful things we receive. Forgiveness. Hope. Peace. Contentment. Love. And so very much more. By Your grace, when Jesus is all we want we receive everything we need one moment at a time.

Because You are who You say You are and You faithfully keep Your promises, I can say from the depth of my heart . . . “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life.” Amen.

Jesus is all we want and need!

When you and I repent and surrender our lives to Jesus no matter what it costs, when we make Jesus everything we want . . . He graciously becomes everything we need.

I can’t really explain it. I’ve shared before, that I held back a little bit of myself for years because I was afraid that the “cost” might be greater than I was willing to give. I was afraid I would have to sacrifice something that was too dear or that God would allow a pain that was too great.

I know now that was a lie from the enemy.

God has carried me through things I never believed I could endure. He’s carrying me through a difficult time right now. And He has proven to me…

The words for today’s note…

If Jesus is all I have; I have everything I need.

May God bless you as you invite the Holy Spirit to help you make Jesus everything you want and need.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

And a thank you to BibleGateway.com for sources.

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The Important Truth You Need to Know about Carrying Your Cross

3 / 17 / 212 / 24 / 21

The idea of carrying your cross to follow Jesus can be a frightening thought but there is an important truth His followers have that changes everything. #BibleStudy #JesusTruth #Faith #CountingMyBlessings #BlessingBloggers #WWGGG

I’ve stumbled over these words of Jesus more times than I’d like to admit…

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 9:23

I didn’t struggle with the “follow me” part. The “give up your own way” part was harder. But the “take up your cross daily” part . . . that was hard. I could get tripped up by those words.

I didn’t want to carry my cross.

I held back a little because I was afraid that if I surrendered myself completely to God’s will, I might be asked to suffer in ways that would be too difficult to endure.

So, when problems came along, I ran to self-help books and so-called experts. Oh, I prayed and asked God to fix my problems but I lived as if it were up to me to do the fixing.

Until the Lord allowed circumstances that helped me understand that although I trusted God for my eternal future, I was denying myself the blessings He wanted me to have everyday.

Because the truth about cross-carrying is that when you and I follow Jesus and willingly give up our own way . . . He helps us carry any cross He allows.

And today, I regularly thank God for allowing the painful time that brought me to the TRUTH that I had doubted for so very long…

When you and I give up our own way, take up our cross daily, and follow Jesus, He will give us everything we need to live with the confidence that He is able and willing to give us whatever is needed every single day.

A Prayer to Know and Live
the Truth of Cross Carrying

Lord, forgive me. I have listened to the world’s lies that my days and my problems are up to me. I have foolishly lived out the consequences of unwise choices of worldly “experts” rather than seeking Your will and trusting Your ways. I have foolishly denied myself Your peace and strength, choosing to live in fear and doubt.

Thank you for allowing me to see my lack of wisdom and understanding. Thank you for showing me that Your love is greater than my foolishness and Your grace is greater than my sin.

I want to fully follow You, Lord. I want to lay down my stubborn will and selfish desires. I want to SEEK You so that I might KNOW, TRUST, and OBEY Your will with confidence that You will give me everything I need for whatever cross You allow. In Jesus’ precious name, I pray. Amen.

Jesus will help you carry your cross!

I love the way The Message expresses this truth:

Then [Jesus] told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?”
Luke 9:23 (MSG)

If, like me, you have struggled or are struggling with the idea of carrying your cross, know that your Savior understands. He cried out in the Garden and pleaded with the Father to remove the suffering He was about to face. Although the Father didn’t remove the suffering, He did give Him everything He needed to endure it because of His tremendous love for you and me.

If God allows us to carry a cross He will give us what we need to carry it.

On today’s note write:

I will follow Jesus and trust Him to help me carry today’s cross.

May the Lord bless you today as you follow Him.

Click here to read the rest of Luke 9.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

And a thank you to BibleGateway.com for sources.

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How to Trust Jesus When Life is Hard

1 / 25 / 211 / 8 / 21

No one wants to suffer. So, how do we trust Jesus when life is hard? We turn to Him, remember all He's done in the past & believe His promises for the future. #TrustJesus #BibleStudy #FAith #Matthew16 #CountingMyBlessings #BlessingBloggers #WWGGG

If Jesus came to you and asked…

“Who do you say I am?“
Matthew 16:15

What would you say?

Peter replied…

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:16

A messiah is defined as a savior or liberator . . . someone who sets people free. And that’s exactly what Jesus did for you, for me, and for all of creation. He set us free from sin, death, and satan’s power through His perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection.

You and I can trust Jesus . . . but what do we do when life is hard?

“If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].”
Matthew 16:24 (AMP)

I grew up going to Christian schools and church. I’ve known this verse for as long as I can remember and up until about a dozen years ago . . . it terrified me.

I didn’t want a hard to carry cross. I didn’t want to “endure whatever.” I didn’t want to suffer or die! And for all those reasons, I was afraid to surrender completely . . . to trust Jesus when life was hard.

I didn’t believe that Jesus was able to give me what I needed to endure whatever God allowed. My faith was weak.

But then, as many of you know, our family lived through several of the things I believed were crosses that were too hard to carry—things I believed were unendurable.

But that was a lie from the enemy. Every day Jesus gave me everything I needed to endure. Everything!

Through illness, loss, fear, anxiety, and much more . . . Jesus carried us.

Proving to me that you and I can trust His promise:

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30

The truth is . . . Jesus will help us carry any cross God allows!

Will you pray with me?

A Prayer to Trust Jesus When Life is Hard

Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Messiah. I believe You are God’s sacrifice to save me. I believe You are my Lord and Savior. And I believe You will give me everything I need to carry any cross that is allowed.

Why do I believe? Because You have been faithful in the past. You have helped me carry and endure things I believed were impossible and unendurable. You are the source of my faith, hope, peace, strength, courage, and love. I believe I can trust You with every part of my life . . . today, my tomorrow, and forever. You are all I need! Thank you, Jesus! Amen.

Friend, we can trust Jesus when life is hard!

He is our Savior Messiah. He is the Alpha and Omega—the Great I AM. And He is faithful to keep His promises.

Pause today and make a list of the times and ways the Lord has given you what you needed in the past . . . times He has calmed your fears and given you strength, moments when you had peace you didn’t understand and the ability to forgive when it felt impossible.

If God allows a cross in your life Jesus will help you carry it.

Today’s note to self…

I can trust Jesus even when life is hard.

May you be blessed today to be an all-in follower of Jesus.

You can read all of Matthew 16 here.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

And a thank you to BibleGateway.com for sources.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

You can also…

Leave your prayer requests…

and stop to pray one or two of the requests listed.

I’m so excited to tell you about my new book!

Check out our new Facebook Page/Group – #WWGGG – What Would Give God Glory. We’d love for you to join the movement!

And always remember – I LOVE hearing from you! So, please take a minute to say ‘hi’ by leaving a comment.

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When You Don’t Want a Cross-Carrying Kind of Faith

2 / 19 / 152 / 6 / 16

Then He [Jesus] called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. Mark 8:34–35

That verse used to terrify me. I don’t know about you but I don’t want any part of cross-carrying. I want safe, calm, comfortable, secure . . . peace.

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday—the beginning of Lent. For the next six and a half weeks followers of Jesus will fast, pray, and ponder His journey to the cross.

And Jesus called His followers to deny themselves, carry their cross, trust and obey . . . lose their safe and secure for Him.

Have you ever wondered, maybe even worried about cross-carrying?

Worry is Simply Lack of Faith

I knew I was a fear-filled worrier. My doctor has described me as “high strung and anxious.” Seriously, I’ve had times when I turned worry into an art form. But really . . . look around. Have you seen all the truly terrible things that could happen?

Truthfully, I didn’t want to admit that my worry was really lack of faith. I wanted to think I was in control. If I worried or “thought something through” I could control the outcome. I could keep things safe. Peaceful.

But that isn’t the only verse that says life lived as a follower of Jesus may include crosses.

But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Acts 9:15–16

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps. 1 Peter 2:21

If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. Matthew 10:38

But the truth I’ve learned is that if God allows a cross, He gives everything needed to carry it. Everything.

Giving Up Fear for Faith

“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith . . . I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

It’s true. There will be trials and sorrows. Worry doesn’t prevent it. Fear won’t keep it away.

I know. All my worry didn’t prevent hard and messy, but…

It’s a small yet important word, isn’t it?

“You will have trials and sorrows. But take heart, because.”

Take heart [don’t lose your faith], because…

I have overcome the world
I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.
Be sure of this: I am with you always.

Through every hard day Jesus was faithful, and because of His faithfulness my faith grew. Faith slowly became greater than fear.

My faith diminished when I focused on my fears, but grew when I kept my eyes on Jesus.

Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Hebrews 12:1–2

Faith focused on Jesus has everything it needs for cross-carrying. And in this life cross carrying will happen.

I think that’s what Jesus meant when He asked us to pick up our cross. He was calling us to LIVE. Because life includes hard days and messes. Life includes crosses. And all the worrying in the world won’t change that.

So, pick up your cross. LIVE. And trust God to give you everything you need to carry your cross.

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