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.
I pray that every trial and tribulation I now suffer is a mile run by one who trains for a marathon. Men run with heavy backpacks on their backs to train their bodies,to discipline them to, to bring them into a place of strength and endurance. The cross that I bear, the cross that I take up, has been uniquely designed for me and for who I am. It is intricately designed to test me and to bring me to a place brokenness and strength in the Lord.
To follow Jesus is to follow the path that He trod. He blazed a trail, a narrow path through fire and flood. We must be equipped to walk through these obstacles. The cross is the equipping. No cross means no forward progress in the Lord. As we walk along this narrow path, many are the encampments of folks who have no desire to go any further. The road, they found, was too difficult. And these encampments have names. One is called Camp compromise. Another is called Camp indulgence. And again another is called Fall Away Camp.
As we pass these camps the inhabitants will come out and jeer at us. They will attempt to discourage us and tempt us to take up camp with them. Many will be hostile and throw rocks at us as we pass them by and pass them by we shall. Each camp becomes a cautionary tale. Each camp that we see only strengthens our resolve to keep on going. The cross has equipped us with all the endurance and perseverance that we need to overcome the obstacles and the temptations.
Brothers and sisters, do not look to the left nor to the right. The Lord Himself has given us the bread of adversity and the waters of affliction through our own cross. The bread has given us sustenance and the waters of affliction has refreshed our parched spirits. In the midst of our prior adversities and afflictions we have seen the Lord, our teacher. And now this all comes back to us as we approach the beginning of the end of the narrow path that lies before us. Lean on the cross brothers and sisters, take strength from it. It’s victory will carry you home.
A Call To The Remnant 