What if it hurts?

Have you ever heard the phrase, “No pain, no gain”? Sometimes that is true. Especially when it comes to trying to get in shape for summer and we regret all the food we ate in winter! We have been talking about obedience and what we need to do to obey God. I don’t know how long you have been walking with the Lord but one thing is common to all of us. We all need to learn to trust God. 

Trusting God does not mean the process will be any shorter than it needs to be. It does not even mean we will get what we want. However, it does mean that we know that we are following in the footsteps of Christ as we walk in obedience to God. One thing that can stop us from saying yes to God is our mind. We ask questions that sometimes we do not have the answers to. That is why we walk by faith and not by sight. Today we are going to look at one of those questions together. 

What if obeying God is going to hurt?

What do we do then? I am reminded of the story of Abraham and Isaac. In Genesis 22:2-3 it says, “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” The next morning Abraham got up early…”. Abraham took Isaac and some necessities for the offering and went. Take note how Abraham “got up early” in the morning so he could do what God had asked him to do. 

God knew it would hurt, He even said to Abraham, “your only son…whom you love so much”. Isaac was Abraham’s miracle baby. As we go along in life, God may ask us to do things that will hurt us. He doesn’t ask because He is oblivious to the pain it will cause, He asks because He is God and He is a good Father and He knows there is something that will be released in, through or to you on the other side of your obedience. 

Now, Abraham is the only person I know whom God asked to go sacrifice his son. God does not usually do that. In fact, He stopped Abraham from killing Isaac and provided a ram instead. God does not ask us to do things that contradict His word, so we must be mindful of that. However, the fact that something may be uncomfortable or that it may hurt does not necessarily mean that it is not God.

Trust God with the process. Trust Him to work it all out for good. Trust Him as the “decider” of what’s best for us in our lives. As much as we love to run our own lives, we really must let Jesus take the wheel and steer us in the direction that brings life, joy and peace as we live righteously unto God.  

Love and Blessings, 

Melissa Tsingano.