March 2: The Cost of Discipleship: When Following Hurts
đ "Then Jesus said to His disciples, âIf anyone wants to follow after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.â" â Matthew 16:24 (CSB)
The Night I Almost Walked Away
I remember the night so clearly.
Sitting in my car outside the church, engine off, hands gripping the steering wheel. My heart felt like it was being pulled in two directions.
A relationship I cherished was breaking apart, and deep down, I knew why. If I truly followed Jesus, I couldnât hold onto both. I was counting the cost in real-time, and it hurt.
Jesusâ words in Matthew 16:24 werenât just poetic theology anymore. They were real. They were the chisel pressing against the stone of my heart.
âĄď¸ Deny yourself. âĄď¸ Take up your cross. âĄď¸ Follow Me.
Thereâs a moment in every believerâs journey where the cost of following Jesus feels too high. Maybe youâre there right now. Maybe your heart is torn between faith and fear, between surrender and self-preservation.
Let me tell you: Iâve been there, too. And I want to encourage youâdonât walk away. Because what feels like loss in the moment is actually leading you to life.
Itâs not just the big moments that test our faith. Sometimes, itâs the little onesâchoosing honesty when a lie would be easier, offering forgiveness when bitterness feels justified, stepping into the unknown when every part of you craves certainty.
đĄ These daily sacrifices shape our faith just as much as the monumental ones.
(If this resonates, let me know in the comments. And if this is something you needed to hear today, sharing it might encourage someone else whoâs struggling, too.)
What Does It Actually Cost?
We love the idea of following Jesus when it means peace, purpose, and joy. But what about when it costs us something?
What about when it asks for our pride, our control, our comfort?
The truth is, discipleship isnât just about gainingâitâs about losing, too. Itâs about laying down the things we once thought we couldnât live without. And thatâs terrifying, isnât it? Because we donât like to let go.
đ Culture tells us to âchase our desires.â â Jesus says, lay them down.
Not because He wants to rob us of joy, but because He wants to give us something greater. The irony? Letting go of our plans often brings the very life we were searching for all along.
Faith often requires us to step forward before we see where weâre going.
đ Abraham didnât know where God was leading him, but he still followed. đ The disciples left everything behind when Jesus called.
What might He be asking you to lay down today?
Maybe itâs a dream, a habit, or even a relationship that pulls you away from Him.
Itâs a scary thing to surrender, but Godâs plans have always been better than ours. Looking back, I see the ways He redirected my pathâways I didnât understand then but am so grateful for now.
âď¸ Have you ever had to lay something down for the sake of obedience? If so, Iâd love to hear your story in the comments. Letâs encourage each other in the faith
Carrying the Cross in the Ordinary
Taking up our cross sounds dramatic, but often, itâs not.
Itâs choosing to bite your tongue when every part of you wants to retaliate.
Itâs staying faithful in a season that feels stagnant.
Itâs stepping into the unknown when certainty is nowhere to be found.
Sometimes the cross is heavyâlike losing a job because of integrity. Sometimes itâs quietâlike choosing Jesus when no one is watching.
But in all of it, we donât carry it alone.
âĄď¸ Jesus goes before us. âĄď¸ He knows the weight. âĄď¸ He bore it first.
Carrying the cross means carrying His love, too.
It means living in a way that points people back to Him.
It means standing firm in our faith, even when weâre misunderstood, and continuing to serve, even when it feels unnoticed. Because the truth isânone of it is unnoticed by God.
Maybe youâre in a season where following Jesus feels like loss. Maybe youâre sitting in your car, gripping the wheel, wrestling with the weight of discipleship.
đ Hear this: Jesus is worth it.
âď¸ Every sacrifice, every surrender, every moment of doubt that turns into trustânone of it is wasted.
I didnât walk away that night. I let go.
And what I thought was loss became life.
Because following Jesus, even when it hurts, leads to the deepest joy we will ever know.
And in that process, we donât just find Jesusâwe become more like Him.
đ Jesus, give me the courage to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Youâeven when it costs me something. Amen.
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An Invitation to go DeeperâŚ.
If todayâs message spoke to you, join the FaithLabz 30-Day Prayer Challenge and strengthen your connection with Godâs unshakable love. You are never aloneâletâs grow together!
