Pick It Up

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 

(Luke 9:23-24 NKJV)

What is the thing that you must take up daily in order to follow Jesus?

I have come to realize that in marriage “the thing” can easily be the negative feelings I have towards my husband. They creep in at various times. Disappointment, anger (I know you don’t get mad your husbands, but there are times when I am angry with mine) even hurt feelings must be considered my cross and be taken up.  

In the times when Jesus walked the earth as man, the cross was the very thing used to kill. Death on the cross was a slow death.  It sucked the air out you and you suffocated. Isn’t that what these kinds of feelings do to a marriage?  Since Jesus was made to carry His cross, I find it only makes sense that He should instruct us to carry ours. What is the thing that you must take up daily in order to follow Jesus? 

Luke 9:23 says to us all, if we desire to come after Him we must deny ourselves. Those feelings I mentioned earlier…. I must deny myself. I must find a way to deny my feelings the right to take over. Hurt, anger and disappointment will kill my marriage slowly if I allow myself to be hung up on them. The key is to carry them like a cross behind Jesus. 

How often does this happen? My guess is daily! Jesus knows that we experience crosses in our marriage every day so that is how frequently we must take them up and follow Him. What does that look like for me?  

Here are a few of my tips:

· Acknowledge your cross? What is killing your joy, peace, or love?  

·         Deny yourself the ease of keeping that cross around.  

·         Deny its control over your thoughts and feelings by taking it up in prayer.

I commit to following Jesus although experiences and feelings may threaten to kill my love for Him and my precious husband. I do this daily and you must too!

What is your cross made of? Are you prepared to take it up and to follow Jesus? If you desire to come after Jesus, join me in this cross carrying thing. It is not easy but Luke 9:24 promises that if we desire to save our lives then we must lose this flesh stuff.   

You can do it, pick up some cross and carry it to Jesus. You will see Him save something in your heart, mind, and marriage. If you do this every day, your love will grow and your life will be saved!      

Comment below and tell us what crosses do you pick up each day? 

Are you carrying the things killing you marriage to Jesus?