The Narrow Gate
“Enter through the narrow gate”, my love. Always. In everything.
Do the hard thing.
Become accustomed to difficult.
Expect it.
Enjoy it.
“For the way is wide and the path is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”
Every single facet of life works this way. Faith, relationships, health, work, finances…everything. Choosing the easy road, the wide road, the popular road, robs you of the blessings that abound on the other side of obedience.
In your faith, make the hard decision. Go all in. Don’t straddle the fence. The grass IS ALWAYS greener on God’s side. Eternally green. Trust Him with everything. Do what He commands. “Pay attention to what He says. Turn your ear to His words. Do not let them out of your sight. Keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.” (Proverbs 4:20-22) Nothing is truer than this. Believe what He says about you. Pay attention to your thoughts. Take the time to slow down and really listen to what you’re allowing yourself to believe. It’s easy to believe lies. It’s hard believe Truth. Do it anyway. Flee easy. With all your might. Embrace hard.
In your relationships, do the difficult things. Invest the time. Invest the resources. Give abundantly, without limit, knowing God has you safely in His hand and will provide any needed return on your investment. Forgive, and let God handle the wrongs. He is faithful and equipped to do so. Bitterness will dampen your sweet, vibrant spirit and drag you down the wide path of becoming someone you are not. Live free from that so you can love hard. Say you’re sorry. Confess your wrongs. Build up instead of tearing down. Use your words for blessings. Not curses.
In your health, practice self-control in all things. There are times to fast and times to feast. Keep your mind, and therefore body, at peace by training it to stay focused on the Lord and His Kingdom. Do the hard work of learning how God created you to thrive, then do the harder work of putting that into practice. Learn to grow, process and cook your own food. Move your body. Work hard, physically, 6 days a week. Rest for 1. Do the seemingly impossible and turn off progress and achievement. Cast off any anxiety and cares and rest. Enjoy the life God has given you.
In your finances, do the hard thing with your money. Give to God what’s His. To Uncle Sam what’s His. Be insanely generous and smart with the rest. Don’t fall prey to using money to make your life more valuable. It won’t. That easy road may be wide, but it’s also shallow. And despite what Satan would have you believe, it does not lead to deep, abundant life.
In your work, stay faithful and work heartily, as unto the Lord, not man. Use your gifts and hone them. Enjoy what God has given you to do. Be grateful. How narrow this path is. Especially today. Be different.
My love, train your mind in the way of hard. Renew it at every turn, in every way. Always choose the narrow path. Always choose Jesus and His way. It’s the only path that will bring you back to who He made you to be and lead you safely down the road to the purposes for which He created you, setting you free and giving you life to the full.
“For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:14)
My prayer this Daughter’s Day for you and your sweet baby sister is that you would understand that you’re not just my daughters, you’re His. So live like it.
Choose hard.
Choose narrow.
Choose what so few do.
There’s no limit to the love and joy you’ll find along, and especially at the end, of such a path. 💕
