Walking the Lonely Road

Taking Up the Cross

“And He (Jesus) said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

The Cross is an offence to most because it reveals our utter lost state without the Lord. Most do not want to admit that, so our walk with the Lord in this world can be a lonely road. It is lonely only in the sense of people walking that road with us. There can be persecution. Families and friends may turn against us, but the Lord stands with us. Fellowship with the Lord is sweet. He will lead us down the road less traveled and bring us into His very Presence for Eternity.

We are the children of God, joint heirs with Christ, the People of God, and a friend of God. What could be better than this. So how do we walk this road aright fellowshipping with the Lord? We do it by denying ourselves. We are not talking about asceticism, which is the denial of all earthly pleasures, but a denial of our own ability to walk out a life of obedience to the Lord. We must walk out this life by faith in what He accomplished at Calvary. We must come to the realization that this journey cannot be made in our own strength, nor by our own efforts. Our way to victory is by trusting Him in every aspect of our lives.

In our introductory verse, the Lord is telling us that we must make the Cross (what He accomplished there) the object of our faith daily and live our lives by walking after the Spirit. We walk after the Spirit by placing our faith in Christ crucified daily. The Holy Spirit then will work mightily in our lives bringing us the victory we seek to walk out a life pleasing to the Lord.

The road can be lonely even within the church. Many believe that our sanctification comes about by what we do – meaning our works – in other words, faith plus works. This is not true. We cannot save ourselves and we cannot walk before the Lord in our own strength. The Christian disciples such as prayer, church attendance, reading the Bible, and fasting are important, but trusting in these for victory will result in failure.

The Holy Spirit will help us. Calvary made it possible for Him to come and indwell all believers. If we choose to not go the way of faith in the provision the Lord has provided, then we will not find victory and will live a defeated life. Not walking in the Spirit is the ultimate lonely road that we need not walk. Jesus said, “Follow Me.” His way is the Cross. Our way is by the Cross. We may experience the lonely road due to few being on it, but it is a road of, “joy unspeakable and full of Glory” as we walk it out in the presence and power of the Lord. He will guide us and be our ever present help on this road that leads to an eternity in the Presence of the Lord.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go, I will guide you with My eye” (Psalm 32:8).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024