Suffering for God's Will

 'Peter told the Lord: “You must pity Yourself!” The Lord came back with: “You must deny yourself.” There is a price to pay in following God’s will. The flesh trembles at such a prospect. While soul life reigns supreme within us we are unfit to accept God’s orders because it wishes to follow its will and not God’s. When He calls us to deny ourselves through the cross and renounce all for His sake, our natural life instinctively responds with self-pity. This renders us unwilling to pay any cost for God. Hence whenever we choose the narrow way of the cross and endure for Christ’s sake, our soul life shall suffer loss. This is how we lose that life. Only in this way can the spiritual life of Christ be enthroned pure and supreme, undertaking within us whatever is well-pleasing to God and beneficial to men. '  The Spiritual Man - Watchman Nee

Mat 16:21  From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 

Mat 16:22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 

Mat 16:23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. 

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 

Mat 16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 

Jesus said-   DENY ourselves!  Jesus said- TAKE up our cross!  Jesus said- FOLLOW Him!

If we seek to SAVE our own lives- we will LOSE them.

If we are willing to LOSE our lives for Jesus' sake we will find them.

There truly is a PRICE to pay in following God's will.

We cannot say we are Christ followers and then NOT deny ourselves.  We are denying our soul-self- we are denying self being first, we are putting spirit before flesh, before self. We make choices every single day of our lives we make choices.  A day doesn't go by in which we do not make choices.  The choices we choose will indicate to us what path we are following- self or God.

Some may ask if it is truly so bad to follow self and I say, YES!  Why is it so bad? Because self-seekers, soulical people are NOT spiritually minded and if we aren't spiritually minded we will not have Christ in us, and if Christ is not in us then we are lost eternally.

So yes, it is important to choose God over self every single time.

Becoming aware of just how self-orientated we are is necessary for us and God will reveal it to us if we allow Him to.  So many would rather hide away from their true selves because to come face to face with them would mean comprehending how awful we really are in the light of HIS righteousness.

Please, Lord, we would see Your truth. Help us to learn how to denying ourselves and pick up our cross. Teach us. We need to know You and all Your truth! Help us, please… save us.

Help us comprehend how we are to suffer and not suffer senselessly, but only in Your will as our Savior suffered in Your will- for love.

In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord! Always.