Taking up your cross.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. (Matthew 16:24 NASB)

It is said in the scripture that if anyone wishes to go after Jesus, we are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. It is easy to believe that all it takes for us to follow Jesus is to pick up our cross and follow Him. Yes, that is it. We must yield our own strength and ability, and trust that God will take care of the rest. 

A life that is in total abandonment for God is a life that's worth living for. But as Jesus followers, we sometimes get tired, burn- out, and distracted. Why? I don't have all the answers to it, but I think many of us fail to understand that picking up our cross to follow Jesus is not like a walk in the part. 

The cross that Jesus carried before He went to Calvary was indeed heavy. Similarly, the cross that Jesus asked us to carry is heavy. We are bound to get tired sooner or later. Those of you who have carried something heavy will know what I'm talking about. Our hands and shoulders becomes numb because of the weight that we have been lifting for a long time. 

But there is indeed another promise. Jesus said in Matthew 11:30, "Come to me you who are heavy- burden, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Indeed we will be tired and begin to get distracted. But God promises us that it will be alright, if you trust and put your faith in Him. That you will make it through, if you believe in Him.

For when we put our faith in Christ, we allow Him to take those pains and burdens for us.