It Hurts to Carry the Cross
It hurts to take up your cross and follow Jesus Christ. No one really talks about this. I don’t know why.
It has been shocking to me how painful it is to follow the Lord.
Jesus said to deny yourself, take up the cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24).
In church, they make it sound so easy. Just open your heart to Jesus Christ and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. Nobody reads you the small print – the cost and obligations you now carry. It sounds simple – just love your neighbor. Be kind. Don’t be a jerk (a selfish person).
What does it look like to deny yourself and take up your cross?
At first, people assume it means that you stop drinking, smoking, swearing and hanging out with those who encourage that behavior. You start cleaning up your act, so to speak.
That’s probably the first steps you take as God convicts you that your behavior is not like Him. You start making wiser, more loving choices and it shows in the change of your behavior.
But what does it really mean to carry the cross? It means you die to everything you want. It means you give up your right to have a say in who your friends are, who you marry, how many children you have and what kind of career you pursue. It means you don’t get to choose where you live, how you live or how long you live. Your life becomes a living sacrifice for Him. You die daily, like Paul said (1 Corinthians 15:31).
It is painful. It is not easy. I think if most people knew the cost, they would take it much more seriously when someone invites them to follow Christ.
I know this is not a popular topic. But it needs to be said. I wonder how many people are really willing to follow Jesus if they knew the cost?
It’s a decision you make every day. You no longer live for yourself, you live for Him.
It hurts to carry the cross. You give up everything for Him. And then you do it again and again and again… forever – because He is worthy! He is SO worthy! It is a pleasure to serve Him and lay down your life for Him. And yet … let’s be honest. It still hurts. It is painful to die to yourself, to let the ego-driven desires go.
You think you have given up everything and then He shows you that there’s even more to give. It doesn’t stop.
Is it worth it? Yes! Is it still painful? Yes!
What has been your personal experience of carryng the cross and following Jesus? Did anyone explain the cost to you before you made that decision?
Please comment below – we learn from each other’s experience. I think this is something more people should be honest about because I’ve never heard anyone share their experience of this. Have you?
[P.S. I can hear people saying, “But God let’s you choose some things!” Yes, maybe, sometimes, not often. I can hear others saying, “But God’s plan for you is SO much better than anything you had in mind.” Yes, I’m sure it is. But it’s still okay to acknowledge the pain of sacrifice. Why are people afraid to talk about that pain? It needs to be said so that young believers are not disillusioned when the pain comes. Are we afraid of scaring people away from Christ? If they assume following Christ is easy, then what kind of followers will they be? Let’s be honest with them – they deserve that. 😊]
Discover more from Discernment of the Supernatural Realm
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Share this:
Posted on January 18, 2025, in Educational, God, Jesus, Spirit, Spiritual realm and tagged Bible, carrythecross, Christian, crossofChrist, faith, followChrist, followJesus, God, Jesus, unseen realm. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
Discernment of the Supernatural Realm 
It hurts so bad to take up your cross but I wouldn’t change it. Blessings, Carolynne
Carolynne, thank you for this acknowledgment. I appreciate it. God bless you too! 😊
wow! This is so beautifully said. I heard this message this week. If you don’t feel the weight of your cross then you aren’t carrying one or truly being a disciple. It hurts so much to deny even things that are permissible, truly not everything is beneficial in our walk to true intimacy with the Lord. He is worthy and only by His spirit can we be empowered to deny our desires, and longings daily. Thanks be to God who delivers us from this body of death. This walk is about straining forward when we don’t feel like it, when are hearts are growing cold. Opening up your bible instead of that nap. Love the new song hard fought hallelujah by Brandon Lake. It exemplifies this reality! Even if I finish the race with a broken limb dragging across the line, praise be to the one who keeps us in the faith! Be encouraged family, we join him in suffering but we will also join him in Glory.
Yessenia, thank you for your kind words! I appreciate the support. Thank you for sharing that new song – I hadn’t heard it before. I love this line, “I’m gonna keep on singing ‘til my soul catches up with my song”. So true! I am so glad to hear that you heard a message this week about carrying the cross – it is so rare to hear this preached. God bless you and thanks for adding to this conversation. You blessed me. 😊
Its funny, I was just thinking that as I watched a group of young adults at a revival just praising and worshipping…I was thinking wow they don’t even know what they are in for. I thought maybe my walk was different until I heard Pastor Carter Conlin preaching a message awakening from the sleep of sorrow, and many of his messages I’ve heard since then are all about this( he’s a great preacher). The Word says you will be afflicted, we are put through the fire, pruned and purged so we will be ready to meet our King of Kings but I understand intimately what Paul says when he said they despaired of even living they were pressed so hard. It’s all for our good by a good loving God but it doesn’t make it hurt less.
Thank you, Tera, for your comment. I’m glad the Lord is impressing this on your heart and I’m encouraged to know that there are preachers who talk about this. God bless you. 😊
No one told me it would be difficult. I was given the impression that everything would be great. That has not been my experience in the least. Because of this, I have been judged numerous times by people in the church, pastors included. At times I have felt like Job, everyone blaming me for the constant goings on in my life. I’d look around at the other people and realize how little issues were in their lives and even with the big ones, they had a ton of support and made it through. But it wasn’t often, it wasn’t like what I went through and it made me wonder if there was something wrong with me? Why is trying to live so hard? I knew God loved me more than anyone, but I seemed to suffer so much more. As I observed, some of those people had a really shallow relationship with God but others did not and were all in and didn’t have as many struggles. Regardless, I do believe that we need the truth told, that it won’t be easy, but it will always be worth it.
One last thing I find interesting. I had a friend once that wasn’t with God and when they were privy to my constant battles they sounded so much like Lot’s wife. Why do I even believe if I’m suffering so much? Wouldn’t it be better to not believe and not suffer? I remember smiling huge, no, no it would not be better, by any means. I’d rather suffer with Christ every day than suffer without Him one single moment of my life.
It is hard to walk this path without human support. I’m glad you have stayed faithful to Him no matter what. God bless you. 😊
It is the plain truth!!! I wonder how many people are really willing to follow Jesus if they knew the cost? And nobody explained the cost to me before my baptism!!! And now it is so @#$&-ing HARD that I would cry!!!!!! I belonged to those 98% of Christians that are lukewarm and would go to hell after their death!
Life is so hard!! But to serve the devil is much much worse, because he hates even those who serve him!!! And God with His Son Yeshua are THE ONLY ONE TRUE GOD!!! I know it from experience. He helped me so many times!!! But I’m still selfish! Maybe some Divine Mercy might be shone to me at my final hour!
Eugen, thank you for sharing your experience. I’m glad you can relate – life IS hard. But God’s love rescues us and gives us courage to face hard things. God sees your heart and that you are following Him, Eugen. He knows who you are and He loves you so much! Hang in there – heaven is coming soon and you will find mercy on that day. May God bless you with peace today.