And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. {Matthew 13:57}
Don’t be surprised when you decide to follow God all the way that not everyone is going to be enthusiastic about it. Your friends and your family might think you’ve lost your mind. Those that are very close to you might be the ones who will turn against you. I remember visiting my husband’s friends after we had just gotten married and the wife lamented that he had become a Christian. To her, where is the fun in being a Christian? What can you possibly do now?
You might not be a prophet, preacher or an evangelist, but once you decide to follow God all the way, you have every potential to be one. It is just a matter of time before the Lord reveals his calling upon your life, and following Him might not be as easy as walking in the park. Nevertheless, it is the greatest thing any of us can ever do in this life. God is greater than anything we can ever give up or attain in this life. There is no one else that can be compared to Him. He is the one who made the heavens and the earth and everything that we see on this earth. We live and breathe and move because of Him. Without God we wouldn’t be here. None of us would be here. He is also the one who has the power over all the principalities and the darkness in this life. When He becomes our Friend and our Master, He gives us the power to become His sons and His daughters. Basically, everything that belongs to the Lord belongs to us too. We become heirs of Jesus Christ. We gain eternal life and everything that is promised to us. When we come to fully believe in the Lord, He tells us that He will give us power. He said,
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. {Luke 10:19}
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. {Mark 16:16-18}
Talk about power! Power to speak the heavenly language that the Lord will give to us when His Spirit comes to dwell in our soul. Power over all the works of the enemy and the darkness of this world. Power to lay our hands on the sick and they will recover. Power to call on His name in time of trouble and find His help. We will experience His peace that passes man’s understanding, His joy unspeakable and full of glory. There are loads of wonderful benefits in following the Lord and giving up everything to do what He desires for us to do. Yes, there are going to be times of trials and tribulations too and the Lord Himself had warned us about this. But He told us He will give us peace in the process. He said to us,
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. {John 16:33}
Apostle Paul warned us as well,
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. {2 Timothy 3:12}
The key thing to following Jesus Christ is to follow Him all the way and never look back. Being half-hearted in our commitment to Him will make our walk with the Lord harder. Our family and friends can become a constant sorrow to us if they see we’re not completely surrendered to Him. The best thing to do is to go all the way with the Lord and be His prophet, His teacher, His evangelist, or His minister. Whatever He calls us to do we can become, because we will look to Him for our strength and not our own. We will look to Him for wisdom and not lean upon our own understanding. He will give us the strength and the power to follow Him when we learn to always call on His name and talk to Him. In time to come when we are faithful to the Lord, He will turn around and bless us in our efforts to follow Him. Our prayers regarding our family and friends He will give to us. They will be saved because of our determination to follow Him and pray for them. Even if they reject Jesus at the beginning do not give up praying for them. Many times you don’t even need to say anything to them but live the life you feel convicted in your heart you should live, guided by Jesus Christ. Sooner or later they will take notice. After many years of prayers for those same friends who were saddened that my husband became a Christian, they are now Christians themselves. The wife even gets invited to speak in various meetings in her church to testify about the goodness of the Lord.
So don’t give up being a follower of Christ. People may shun you, your own family and those that are very close to you might not support you, but it is all worth it in the end.
Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. {Mark 10:28-30}
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. {2 Corinthians 6:17-18}
Prayer
Lord Jesus I thank You Father that there is nothing too hard with You and that anything we need in this life, through prayer and communion with You, we will receive. Thank You, Father that You still hear and answer prayers today. There is nothing that we will experience in this life that we need to experience alone. All we need to do is ask of Your help and strength and comfort and You will be there for us. Whatever we need You will supply.
Lord Jesus, once again, Father I pray, please give us faith in our hearts to believe in Your great love for us. Help us to keep talking to You and not keep back anything from You. It is in our constant communication with You we will find our help and our strength. Help us Father to have faith in You today, I pray, and come to You for help. In Your most wonderful and powerful name, Jesus, I pray. Thank You, Father. Amen.
