I find, as I counsel people, that it’s easy for me to figure out the issue. Discerning the problem and the root of the cause is usually not hard and I thoroughly enjoy that process. I get excited to meet new people and I get joy from the prospect of helping someone gain insight. I tend to struggle more with the how do we fix it part of the therapeutic process because ultimately you can talk all day about the issue(s), but at some point in time it’s about change and growing or else what’s the point? It’s usually not knowing what needs to be done that hard, it’s conveying it in a way that people can be successful. In my mind, I tend to think to myself “OK now, I’ve given you all the information that you need, now go fix yourself”.

I think that we usually know what needs to be done, but struggle with the process of change and letting go of deep and perceived important parts of our life. Therapy, if it fails, usually does so at this point of the process. It’s easier to talk about the issue(s) and causes, but it gets hard when we are asked to get uncomfortable. I have come to the conclusion that it is easier to choose a bad known over a better unknown. And then, of course, there is the failure, sometimes repeated failure. Change is not easy.

So how does this apply to the Christian life. I think, at some point, it comes down to a simple concept, commitment. I think that much of life is simple, just not easy. I also think that things get complicated by our actions to avoid the simple. If we break it down, we ultimately usually know what we should do, but we lack the commitment because change and growth are hard and it almost always will cost us something. I get it. Why would I deliberately do something that ultimately is going to cause me emotional pain. Commitment is about doing something that I know will be uncomfortable, but understanding that I will be better for it in the end.

In our relationship with God it isn’t any different, but the question is what does commitment look like in our relationship with God? I think it’s simple, but of course it’s not easy. Through some significant life events over the last several years of my life I have gotten to the point of evaluating what’s important. It seemed like I was working really hard at a lot of things and even though I would have told you that I was doing them all for God, they were truly for me.

What I discovered as I evaluated what was important and slowly peeled away everything that was not was that the only thing that God asks us to do is be in fellowship with him. The only thing I am to focus my life on is getting closer to Him. So, I did. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to not worry about money, to not think about what might happen in the future, to not care about everything that I have been taught or taught myself was important? At times, it was downright painful, but slowly, over time, I have achieved some joy. Joy is good.