My Morning with God - Luke 9:23

✨ DEVOTIONAL: “THE CALL TO FOLLOW” — LUKE 9:23

Scripture: “Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’” — Luke 9:23 (NIV)

There is a quiet and powerful invitation tucked inside Luke 9:23—a call that still echoes across centuries and lands in our lives right now. Jesus doesn’t disguise the cost of discipleship. He doesn’t sugarcoat the path. Instead, He tells us plainly that following Him requires surrender, sacrifice, and daily obedience.

But notice this word: daily.

To deny ourselves once is not enough. To take up our cross once is not enough. To follow once is not enough. The Christian journey isn’t a moment; it’s a lifestyle. It isn’t a feeling; it’s a rhythm. And it isn’t defined by what happens on Sunday morning alone—it’s shaped in the quiet moments of Monday morning surrender, Wednesday afternoon decisions, Saturday night choices, and everything in between.

Every day, we have something to lay down:

• fear

• pride

• control

• habits

• excuses

• comfort

• old identities

• old wounds

And every day, we have Someone to pick up—Jesus.

Following Him means we don’t lead with our own opinions, our own desires, or our own timing. We lead with His. It means that even when the cross feels heavy, and life feels uncertain, and the flesh wants to run, we trust the One who carried His cross all the way through Calvary—and then walked out of the grave three days later.

Here’s the truth that brings peace:

When Jesus asks us to deny ourselves, He is not trying to diminish us. He is trying to free us.

Every cross we pick up, every desire we lay down, every decision we surrender—those are the very places where His life rises in us.

Sometimes following Christ looks like starting something new; other times it looks like letting something go. Sometimes it looks like speaking up; other times like staying silent. Sometimes it means stepping forward in faith; other times it means waiting with trust.

But always—it looks like Jesus.

Today, as disciples on the journey, let us stand in the truth that surrender is not weakness. It is worship. And following Jesus is not a burden. It is the greatest honor of our lives.

Daily we follow.

Daily we surrender.

Daily we grow.

Daily we rise.

Prayer:

Lord, today I choose to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow You. Show me what needs to be surrendered so I may walk in greater freedom. Lead me, shape me, and strengthen me. May my life resemble Yours in word, in deed, and in heart. Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit in me .Jesus name amen.

Nurse Navigator.”