God Didn’t Ask that From You…

Here's the truth. Many Christians are carrying a cross that God did not call them to carry. Yes, God has called you to pick up your cross. Yes, God has called you to live a life of selflessness and sacrifice, of obedience in response to His voice. But you have to remember that God also wants to give to you life and life more abundantly. God also wants to bless you. God also wants you to experience joy and peace and love and fellowship with Him and fellowship with each other. So here's what a lot of Christians do. They'll look at something like this and say, well, Jesus told me to take up my cross. And then they'll go and make a sacrifice that God did not tell them to make. For example, perhaps you're someone who's working a job that you found that you actually now enjoy. Maybe you worked at a previous job, they didn't pay you so well, they were mean to you. You gave that up, you find the job, it's paying well. You like the people you're working with. The atmosphere is godly. And the enemy may, through religious thinking, try to get you to think that because you're now blessed with a good job, that you should feel guilty for being well-paid. You should feel guilty for having it a little easier. And so the enemy will try to make you feel guilty for being blessed with property, being blessed with a good meal shared with a friend. He'll try to make you feel guilty for experiencing any form of entertainment, even if it's godly entertainment. But here's the reality. When Jesus told you to pick up your cross, he told you to obey him. When Jesus told you to pick up your cross, he was talking about sacrificing your will for God's will. He's not saying whip yourself on the back over and over again and try to be as miserable as possible, or else you're not a true Christian.