There is a newspaper I read that has two crossword puzzles in it. One of the crosswords is relatively easy, while the other crossword is from the New York Times. The Times puzzles begin with an easy one for Monday, then become gradually more difficult until Friday and Saturday’s puzzles. The weekend puzzles are so difficult that the average puzzler may not be able to complete them. When I am able to complete a New York Times crossword, particularly near the end of the week, I have a sense of accomplishment. Conversely, the other puzzle is so easy in comparison that I seldom do it. It doesn’t provide a challenge, even on Frida or Saturday.
It’s not unusual, but we often think the more difficult the task, the more rewarding it is to complete the task. When we stand at the summit of a particular peak we have struggled to climb, we look back with the relish and sense of pride that comes with solving the riddles, addressing the problems and unexpected issues to prevail. We gain a sense of well-being.
We shouldn’t be surprised, then, that the Christian discipleship can be one of the most difficult we do. At no point in the Bible does Jesus suggest the road of discipleship will be anything but difficult. When He talks about it, He mentions taking up one’s cross (an instrument of horrible death), of being willing to forsake family and loved ones to follow Him.
Why does it have to be this way? Isn’t salvation a free gift? Didn’t Jesus already do the heavy lifting?
Why is it so hard to be a disciple of Jesus?
We’re Trying to Do It on Our Own
Far too many people who want to be followers of Christ believe we have to do it ourselves. Yes, we know that He is with us, and we know that the Spirit fills us (some believe the Spirit comes and goes, but my understanding of Scripture is that the Spirit of God indwells the follower from the moment of salvation until the face-to-face encounter with Christ). And so we set out trying to be the best Christians we can be.
And that’s where we fail. The Bible is very clear that we are incapable of living out our faith without Christ living through us. Jesus’ comments in the Upper Room prior to His betrayal said, “I am the true vine . . . Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:1, 4-5).
Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). To the Romans, he wrote, “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you” (Romans 8:10-11).
The point is that we can’t “do things for Jesus.” We may find success as the world defines success, but we will fail in the eyes of God. Without giving Jesus control of our lives and letting the Spirit lead us, we fall short, and the walk becomes that much harder. The beginning of successfully living the disciple’s life is to recognize that our lives are no longer our own, but now belong to Christ. It is He who must live through us, and by allowing Him to live through us, we allow glory and honor to fall to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Our Opposition is Strong
The second thing we need to realize is that our opponent, Satan, is alive and well and living in our world. Though defeated by Christ at Calvary, he has yet to concede total defeat. Instead, his focus is on diverting us from the Father’s will. If Satan can keep us from walking in complete obedience to Christ, then he creates an opening to dilute or possibly destroy our testimony.
Jesus tells us that Satan is a murderer and a liar, that he is the father of lies and that lying is his first language (cf. John 8:43-45). Satan cannot compel us to do anything (the devil can’t “make us do it”), but he is very persuasive and suggests enticingly ways that we can pursue our own agenda and not God’s. James writes, “For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:13b-15).
To see how temptation works, look at the events that transpired in the Garden of Eden as recorded in Genesis 3. Satan begins by laying a doubt in Eve’s mind about whether God really loves them or is just being selfish and protecting His own interests. When Eve begins to engage in the dialogue with the serpent, that is the being dragged away and enticed. Then the devil lures her further in, twisting God’s word and strengthening his argument that the forbidden fruit, rather than being deadly, is eye-opening and life enriching. Eve’s sin is conceived when she looks at the fruit and appreciates its beauty. Then she reaches out and touches it, then tastes it. And sin, fully grown, gives birth to death.
Satan is smart, cunning and adept at lying. He will convince us that the sin we wish to indulge is really good for us, when in fact it will bring utter ruin to us if we give in.
That’s why it’s important to remember 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” It’s why Jesus taught us in the Model Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
One last thing before we leave this area. One of the last things Jesus tells us before His betrayal is, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). Jesus goes on to speak of persecution and hardship that comes from being a child of God. This is also a part of Satan’s strategy. By isolating us from those around us, he hopes to weaken us and make us more vulnerable to his enticements.
The Right Frame of Mind
So, how do we overcome? How do we make the road easier? While the road will never really become easy, there are certain steps we can take to ease the burden somewhat.
The first is an absolute obedience to Christ. “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). The idea here is that Jesus is not unaware of the difficulty. He invites us to walk with Him and let Him share the load. The load He shares is His own, not ours. When we yoke ourselves to Him, we find our true task—burden—and we allow Him to take the lead.
Notice that Jesus didn’t say we could lay down all loads. He calls us to work with Him, letting Him lead and giving us the direction we need. That’s how we find rest for our souls. We walk with Him, sharing His load, learning from Him and becoming more like Him.
Another way we gain the right frame of mind is through the discipline of prayer. The prayers I’m referring to are not the “God, give me this and that,” but more a “God, here I am. I want to be where You want me, and to do what You call me to do.” There’s nothing wrong with asking God for things—James tells us we should, but he reminds us that our motives must be right. Jesus says we can ask anything in His name, and it will be given to us (cf. John 14:9-14; 15:16; Matthew 7:7-8). But we miss out so much in prayer when we limit it to a “heavenly shopping list.” When we see our prayer as genuine conversation with God, we open up the possibilities and find the walk is made less difficult.
Have fellowship with other believers. There is nothing more discouraging than to think that we’re on our own. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:24-25a).
Going back to Satan and temptation, look again at 1 Corinthians 10:13. Notice that the temptations we endure are not unique to ourselves—they are common to all people. And notice that God limits Satan’s ability to entice us—God knows what we can and cannot handle. Recognize that the temptation is intended to harm us, to lead us astray, but also thank God that He knows us to be capable of resisting.
And spend time in the Word. Meditate on God’s truths and learn from the examples of the men and women of the Bible, both Old and New Testament. See how God was working in their world to gain insights into how He is working in our lives. Take key verses to heart, in order to remember the things that will help us in our fight against Satan and against the world. Arm ourselves with the armor of God (cf. Ephesians 6:10-20), using the sword of the Lord to thrust against our enemies. The Bible is also helpful in showing us the best way to relate to our world, to share in season, and to speak words seasoned with salt.
Finally, remember that the victory is already won. “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Conclusion
It’s not easy walking with Jesus. There are forces that surround us, seeking our defeat. But remember, the word “disciple” is a reminder that our walk with Christ takes discipline. One of the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit is that of self-control—learning to say no to self in order to say yes to Jesus.
And find comfort in that we are not alone. Jesus Himself promises to be with us always, and the Spirit indwells us in an on-going way. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who are also fighting the fight and walking the walk and talking the talk. Lean on one another,
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
We are never alone, and the more difficult the walk, the more we can accomplish.
© 2019 Glynn Beaty