“The dilemma of the Story is this: we don't know if we want to be rescued. We are so enamored with our small stories and our false gods, we are so bound up in our addictions and our self-centeredness and take-it-for-granted unbelief that we don't even know how to cry out for help.”
― John Eldredge, EPIC
PSALM 73-74
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, wea have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And web boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but wec also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
JOURNAL
There is a tension inside every one of us, a pull between trust and fear, obedience and self-preservation. And in that tension, a question echoes: Do we really believe God is enough?
We were created for an intimate relationship with God. We are meant to walk with Him, to be guided by His counsel, to find strength in His presence and peace in His promises. Psalm 73 reminds us, “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand… Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you… God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Yet too often, instead of living in that truth, we shrink back. We second-guess. We begin to doubt whether our obedience is enough and whether we are enough. That doubt breeds fear, and fear leads to shortcuts. We manipulate. We justify. We chase comfort and control. We look for the easy way out, not because we are lazy, but because deep down, we are afraid that surrender will not be enough to save us.
As John Eldredge writes in EPIC, “The dilemma of the Story is this: we don't know if we want to be rescued. We are so enamored with our small stories and our false gods… we don't even know how to cry out for help.”
We cling to our false stories because surrender feels like loss. But Scripture flips the script: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it” (Luke 9:24). What we fear losing is actually what is keeping us from living.
The call is not to be perfect but to be faithful. We are called to live in confidence, not in what we can do, but in what God can do with our obedience. Romans 5 reminds us that we have peace with God through Jesus Christ and that suffering, even the suffering of obedience when it costs us, produces perseverance, character, and ultimately, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
This is the invitation. Stop second-guessing. Stop hedging your bets. Live boldly, fully, and obediently, trusting that God can do more with your surrender than you could ever do with your control.
Let go of the fear that your life will not measure up. Because it will not, not on your own. But in His hands, your obedience becomes the doorway to purpose, peace, and joy that cannot be shaken.
LUKE 9:23-25
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