Why is following God so difficult?

[ByTheSpirit]

So the normal answer I hear to this is because the devil fights you tooth and nail every step of the way. When you decide to follow Jesus the devil starts his fight against you. But is that accurate? I doubt it. The answer implies that satan is for someone ever at one time for him to turn and fight now. Satan is always striving against man, he hates us all, even those who "worship" him. All outside of Christ are under his spell of darkness. So it can't be just that satan has decided to amp up his resistance. To be true, that is one reason, but not just the only one. In fact, I submit its not even the biggest factor in why following the Father is so difficult.

The scriptures speak of those who are humble are the ones see God, for he resists the proud but gives grace to the ones who draw near him in humility. The reason I think following God is so difficult is as you step forward in the walk of faith, you peel away your flesh and are pruned so that you die and Christ lives in you.

What do you think?

 

[Andry]

It's not difficult. Life may throw curveballs, and at times may suck, but "following" God isn't difficult. You need a fuller revelation of the gospel of the kingdom, a deeper understanding that the good news really is good news, and understand that God desires relationship, his love toward us is magnanamous, that he's isn't a god that looks down from heaven from his throne pulling our strings, but rather, like Adam and Eve, desires to step out of heaven and walk in the coolness of the garden with us - IOW steps into our lives.

But unfortunately, the good news still seems too good for most believers.

(BTW, when I say "you", I mean it in the generic sense, not you)

 

[ToBeBlessed]

This may be way off base, but lately I've been asking myself if I am really enjoying God and those wonderful moments of my life with Him? Like where am I really finding God in my life and where am I not.

I can take my dog for a walk, not the most Godly thing at all, but I can see God everywhere. I see His creation in the changing of the season, leaves falling from the trees and I can see the great beauty that He has provided for us to enjoy. I know that the leaves falling and dying in this season is not the end of life, but only a season that provides renewal for the next season of life. I can see the carefree way my dog trots along, enjoying each tree and a few fire hydrants and think of the way God calls us to be like children and see the simpleness of things. I see my neighbor carrying the groceries for another neighbor who has broken her arm and I can see the love and caring that we should have for each other. I see the birds in the trees and remind myself of the verse in the Word that tells us how the Lord takes care of the needs of the birds/beasts of the earth and that He loves us so much more and how we should trust in Him to be faithful in all things. I hear the screeching of the tires that come to a stop and miss that child whose ball rolled into the street, how blessed we are with our own children.

Sometimes I think we should start seeing God everywhere instead of looking for ways to please God. When I see God everwhere, I feel His love. When I try to please God, I still feel His love, but less. The other thing is when I am trying to please God there are usually only two outcomes, success or failure.

I don't know, this is something I have been feeling lately and pondering ....

 

[Andy S. Wright]

I think the pottery metaphor may fit here. If we have a full understanding of the end results of the potter's methods for 'perfecting the saints' (Eph 4:12), then the difficulty of the walk isn't too difficult to grasp. Long story short, the Potter's focus is the emptying and refilling of His 'vessels of honor' (2 Timothy 2:21). He has to empty us of ourselves and fill us with Himself. This process is painful and difficult due to our inherent pride but if we 'endure hardness' (2 Timothy 2:3) and learn how to habitually and consistently 'submit...to God' (James 4:7), the Bible says, God will 'exalt [us] in due time' (1 Peter 5:6).

The Potter is working to perfect all of us and He will use everything at his disposal to fulfill that plan (Jeremiah 29:11); including Satan himself (Job). All we have control over is the rate at which this process is performed in our lives. The sooner we learn how to submit to the Potter, the faster we will move from the difficulties of the kiln to the preordained destiny the Potter has for each of us. When we reach that level of submitted relationship with God we are truly 'meet for the master's use' (2 Timothy 2:21) and the difficulties of life are transformed from trials and tribulations to opportunities to see the Potter at work.

Apologies for rambling. Hope there's something in there that makes sense.

ASW

 

[ByTheSpirit]

It's not difficult. Life may throw curveballs, and at times may suck, but "following" God isn't difficult. You need a fuller revelation of the gospel of the kingdom, a deeper understanding that the good news really is good news, and understand that God desires relationship, his love toward us is magnanamous, that he's isn't a god that looks down from heaven from his throne pulling our strings, but rather, like Adam and Eve, desires to step out of heaven and walk in the coolness of the garden with us - IOW steps into our lives.

But unfortunately, the good news still seems too good for most believers.

(BTW, when I say "you", I mean it in the generic sense, not you)

It is difficult for many. Your premise here while true is out of touch with most Christians who are still babies in faith. They are so dependent upon their ministers that when things go south it seems off. You are right that when we get that fuller revelation, things change, but most never do because they don't seek it. Out of purpose or lack of effort who knows, but thats the way it is. If I understood you right. But sadly, while you are right, you are also wrong. To take such a seeming high place in the struggle. Even if you didn't mean it to sound that way, the whole "following God isn't difficult" is a common mistake many ministers make when talking to other believers who really are struggling. Such statements alienate you from them as out of touch. The removal of the flesh is painful and difficult but a necessary part of following Jesus (Luke 9:23). All people go through that and if you find a believer who says they never dealt with that then chances are they are lying or they aren't a true believer. You can not love the world and love God, the flesh is against God and entirely in the world. You must be free of the flesh to follow Jesus, that is the difficult part.

 

[mourningdove~]

So the normal answer I hear to this is because the devil fights you tooth and nail every step of the way. When you decide to follow Jesus the devil starts his fight against you. But is that accurate? I doubt it. The answer implies that satan is for someone ever at one time for him to turn and fight now. Satan is always striving against man, he hates us all, even those who "worship" him. All outside of Christ are under his spell of darkness. So it can't be just that satan has decided to amp up his resistance. To be true, that is one reason, but not just the only one. In fact, I submit its not even the biggest factor in why following the Father is so difficult.

The scriptures speak of those who are humble are the ones see God, for he resists the proud but gives grace to the ones who draw near him in humility. The reason I think following God is so difficult is as you step forward in the walk of faith, you peel away your flesh and are pruned so that you die and Christ lives in you.

What do you think?

The pruning process is not designed by God to be 'comfortable' to us ...
and sometimes it can be painful ...
but a believer can make the journey more difficult for themselves:

- if they do not know their identity, as new creations in Christ.

- if they attempt to live this new life in their own knowledge and strength.

- if they attempt to do the 'pruning' themselves.

- if their faith in God is yet weak.

You are 'spot on' in stressing the importance of humility. A believer can make it difficult for themselves, if they become proud and develop an unteachable spirit. But humbled and surrendered before God, we are in the best position we possibly can be to be instructed by Him, transformed by Him, pruned by Him, empowered by Him... and where God works there is grace ...

 

[Norah63]

Before Jesus return He said, would there be any faith left.
There are principalities and powers of darkness at work, that's scripture.
We need not give in to them, yet they surround us everyday, its the society we live in.
Media is driven by drugs and sex, and bad news. This is just real life in 2014.
Following Jesus needs 24/7 undivided attention, most do not have that for Him.
Come quickly Lord Jesus!

 

[SpiritPsalmist]

So the normal answer I hear to this is because the devil fights you tooth and nail every step of the way. When you decide to follow Jesus the devil starts his fight against you. But is that accurate? I doubt it. The answer implies that satan is for someone ever at one time for him to turn and fight now. Satan is always striving against man, he hates us all, even those who "worship" him. All outside of Christ are under his spell of darkness. So it can't be just that satan has decided to amp up his resistance. To be true, that is one reason, but not just the only one. In fact, I submit its not even the biggest factor in why following the Father is so difficult.

The scriptures speak of those who are humble are the ones see God, for he resists the proud but gives grace to the ones who draw near him in humility. The reason I think following God is so difficult is as you step forward in the walk of faith, you peel away your flesh and are pruned so that you die and Christ lives in you.

What do you think?

God's Word goes against what our flesh wants. When it's hard to follow Him, that's the sign that our flesh needs some discipline. No pain, no gain.

 

[Andry]

It is difficult for many. Your premise here while true is out of touch with most Christians who are still babies in faith. They are so dependent upon their ministers that when things go south it seems off. You are right that when we get that fuller revelation, things change, but most never do because they don't seek it. Out of purpose or lack of effort who knows, but thats the way it is. If I understood you right. But sadly, while you are right, you are also wrong. To take such a seeming high place in the struggle. Even if you didn't mean it to sound that way, the whole "following God isn't difficult" is a common mistake many ministers make when talking to other believers who really are struggling. Such statements alienate you from them as out of touch. The removal of the flesh is painful and difficult but a necessary part of following Jesus (Luke 9:23). All people go through that and if you find a believer who says they never dealt with that then chances are they are lying or they aren't a true believer. You can not love the world and love God, the flesh is against God and entirely in the world. You must be free of the flesh to follow Jesus, that is the difficult part.

I understand the struggle as we all have been there in various ways in our journeys. Your OP didn't make mention of anything "personal" that you were going through, and only communicated "generic" happenings. If you took my posture as being insensitive, I sincerely apologize.

That being said, the gospel isn't complicated. God loves to spend time with us. But we complicate it by imposing obstacles or rituals or standards that cause us to believe we need to do spiritual gymnastics in order for us to get closer to God or for God to manifest in some way in our lives.

I'm sure you know that we're transformed by the renewal of the mind. So allow me the liberty to say God dealt with the sin and the flesh issue, and it wasn't even the primary reason of the cross. IOW, the primary reason Jesus died on the cross wasn't to deal with our sin. It got dealt with, but it wasn't the primary reason. But if we believe it's the primary issue, then following God, the Bible, the Law, et al, will be difficult. Because outside of Jesus, the requirements of the Law is not only difficult, it's impossible.

 

[chapmic]

Satan is against everybody, but Christians are his the bigger focus because we represent a threat to his plan. Remember Jesus gave us the great commission to bring non believers in to the Family of God. Satan definitely does not want this, he doesn't want us to show people the truth and for us to be the light because he is the master of lies and darkness. Satan has no authority and power over Jesus, so his trick is to get his followers to not look to Jesus for his strength. The devil wants us isolated from Jesus so he can defeat us. He does his best to keep us from remembering the good news that is the gospel. We recruit people and show our strength with doing everything we do with Agape Love in mind. Everyone wants and needs this type of LOVE whether they recognize it or not. The devil does not want us to put this Love on display because when people see this truth/Love we are able to recruit lost souls for the Lord. Its the power of the Kingdom of God, remember Jesus parable of the great pearl. The man found it and sold everything he had, he didn't need anything else because he got the best gift that could be given. Remember Love conquers fear and Love conquers all. God bless!

 

[Faulty]

It's the flesh. Last time I checked, Romans 7 was still in effect.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

It's the flesh. Last time I checked, Romans 7 was still in effect.

I agree, that's where I was trying to get with the OP. I was being rushed and couldn't complete my thought, but definitely. Following the Spirit is so difficult and really painful at times (especially as we start) because the flesh is being denied and put to death.

 

[rick357]

I agree, that's where I was trying to get with the OP. I was being rushed and couldn't complete my thought, but definitely. Following the Spirit is so difficult and really painful at times (especially as we start) because the flesh is being denied and put to death.

If Jesus had a hard time with crucifing his flesh( he had never depended on )at Gethsemane....it is understandable we who were decieved into thinking it was life have our difficulties letting go.

 

[ARBITER01]

So the normal answer I hear to this is because the devil fights you tooth and nail every step of the way. When you decide to follow Jesus the devil starts his fight against you. But is that accurate? I doubt it. The answer implies that satan is for someone ever at one time for him to turn and fight now. Satan is always striving against man, he hates us all, even those who "worship" him. All outside of Christ are under his spell of darkness. So it can't be just that satan has decided to amp up his resistance. To be true, that is one reason, but not just the only one. In fact, I submit its not even the biggest factor in why following the Father is so difficult.

The scriptures speak of those who are humble are the ones see God, for he resists the proud but gives grace to the ones who draw near him in humility. The reason I think following God is so difficult is as you step forward in the walk of faith, you peel away your flesh and are pruned so that you die and Christ lives in you.

What do you think?

I got saved at 27. I had amazingly powerful experiences with GOD at first, then after a couple years, GOD went silent.

I didn't really feel GOD start working with me again until last August when I turned 50.

Depending on your calling and the desires in your heart is, your trials and tribulations may last years my friend.

None of us begins walking in holiness and power overnight.

 

[Eyesee]

It's difficult because we live in a world that is polar opposite the Kingdom of God. This world is driven by the tactile senses; sight, touch, smell, taste and hearing. The Kingdom of God is none of those things -- it is by faith. In this world, we can satisfy our flesh immediately -- everything is at our fingertips. We are lonely and we call someone RIGHT NOW. We are hungry and we eat something RIGHT NOW. We feel bad and we do something to make ourselves happy RIGHT NOW.

In God's world, we must WAIT on him. In addition to this, instead of measuring reality by our senses and more importantly by what we may or may not be experiencing, we must reckon everything according to God's promises and according to HIS truth, not ours. So while outwardly we have absolutely zero understanding, we MUST lean on Him for our understanding. He is how we measure reality. I've said before that I still think one of the biggest deficits that today's believer has is endurance. We just don't have it. In order to have endurance, you must face trials where trust in God is fostered. And the bad news that we must have that occur again and again and again so that the point is made through our flesh that God CAN be trusted. It is a journey that few are willing to ENDURE.

This is just the tip of the iceberg though -- I think you get the idea.

ES

 

[Norah63]

So true. Endurance is the Christian life.
I just did a study on "when God is silent" , because me and my husband have prayed for a word for months and still waiting. Arbiter, your post about that gives me hope to keep waiting still.
Sickness never takes a break, and golden years are not that at all. Keeping the faith when so many things are after it, well I know others can relate.
Maybe I shall just say I get tired in the walk but never tired of the walk.
Thanks for this thread, I needed to read it.

 

[nephilimiyr]

So the normal answer I hear to this is because the devil fights you tooth and nail every step of the way. When you decide to follow Jesus the devil starts his fight against you. But is that accurate? I doubt it. The answer implies that satan is for someone ever at one time for him to turn and fight now. Satan is always striving against man, he hates us all, even those who "worship" him. All outside of Christ are under his spell of darkness. So it can't be just that satan has decided to amp up his resistance. To be true, that is one reason, but not just the only one. In fact, I submit its not even the biggest factor in why following the Father is so difficult.

The scriptures speak of those who are humble are the ones see God, for he resists the proud but gives grace to the ones who draw near him in humility. The reason I think following God is so difficult is as you step forward in the walk of faith, you peel away your flesh and are pruned so that you die and Christ lives in you.

What do you think?

I think that is a great answer and I think any answer some may give on this difficult question is a good answer.

My answer is that before we knew Christ we were dead spiritually.
Our lives, knowingly or unknowingly revolved around sin in one form or another. When we became born again we became new creatures in Christ. Spiritually we became alive. Spiritually but not soulishly though. Our soul, or minds, are still infected, we are still very much intune with the world and it's ways. We are still intune with sin, our flesh and all of it's desires.

Why is following God and his ways so difficult, because even though our spirits, our new man, sing praises to God, our old man is still present and wants to sing praises to ourselves. It's a war, a battle ground. Sometimes I feel totally defeated, and sometimes I have glorious victories. What I often get tired of though is the constant warfare between who I was and who I am now. All I, you, or anyone can do is pray for more and more victories than defeats. If we stay faithful to him He will stay faithful to us and those victories will come to us in great numbers as our defeats lose ground and deminish.

I just thank God for the blessed hope that I have that his promise is true. At the end of the day, that is all we can do, is hang onto that hope, exercise that faith, and believe that what you know to be true is true.

 

[ByTheSpirit]

I got saved at 27. I had amazingly powerful experiences with GOD at first, then after a couple years, GOD went silent.

I didn't really feel GOD start working with me again until last August when I turned 50.

Depending on your calling and the desires in your heart is, your trials and tribulations may last years my friend.

None of us begins walking in holiness and power overnight.

This thread wasn't a confessional, I was merely making an observation and sharing a thought on it. Thanks for your input though

 

[nephilimiyr]

I agree, that's where I was trying to get with the OP. I was being rushed and couldn't complete my thought, but definitely. Following the Spirit is so difficult and really painful at times (especially as we start) because the flesh is being denied and put to death.

Didn't Jesus say that if we are going to follow him that we must pick up our cross daily? I was told once that one of the purposes of carrying our cross was to make sure our old self was still nailed to it. If when our flesh takes over and we give into our desires thats means our old self has come down off that cross. The thing is, it's just as easy to come down off that cross as it is to get on it.

 

[nephilimiyr]

If Jesus had a hard time with crucifing his flesh( he had never depended on )at Gethsemane....it is understandable we who were decieved into thinking it was life have our difficulties letting go.

The thing is, if Jesus had a hard time getting up on that cross, we should know that we are going to have a hard time of if it also. And yes, Jesus had a hard time of it, He was a man just as much as He was God.