What Does It Look Like to Follow God, No Matter the Cost?

Have you ever decided to start a business? Maybe, you have had to make an unexpected purchase. Whatever the case may be, there has been a cost. You may have decided that the cost is just too much and you will do without. You may have decided to pay the cost and sacrifice something else. Either way, the choice was made to purchase or not purchase.

Personally, I have made the same choice. For 35 years I had lived in the same town. I married my husband there and had my children there. My life consisted of milking goats, gathering eggs, and feeding cattle. In my spare time, my kids and I would groom the horses and maybe go for a ride. Life was good and I didn’t want anything to change. In April 2018, life did change. God called our family to pack up, move three hours away, and my husband would become a pastor. I had to decide if I was going to make the purchase and follow Him or take a pass.

Following God at all costs is difficult. It is a decision that doesn’t come lightly but can enrich your life beyond all you can imagine. But, what does it look like to follow God at all costs? What biblical examples are given?

What Does the Bible Say about Following God?

To follow God, we must be ready at any moment. We must be prepared to stop everything and do what He has called us to. In Luke 14, Jesus is making His way to Jerusalem. This would be his journey to the cross. He knew what was coming but the people following Him thought he was headed to a throne that would give him all earthly power. They did not realize that Jesus already contained all power as the Son of God.

Verse 33 of Luke 14 states “In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Jesus is expressing that we will need to be ready at any moment to go. We could be called to go to mission fields, go to your neighbors, go to different towns or states. Having possessions is not all bad, but we need to be ready at any moment to let those possessions go to follow Him.

Three Biblical Stories of Following God, No Matter the Cost

While there are many well known Bible characters who followed Christ at all cost, let’s consider some lesser-known characters who did the same.

1. Abigail

Our first example comes from the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel. In chapter 25, we read of an amazing woman named Abigail. At this time, David has traveled to the wilderness of Paran after the death of Samuel. While there he hears about a rich man named Nabal. It became known to David that it was sheep shearing time and David sends out his men to ask for food. Nabal refuses and David becomes angry.

Abigail was the wife of Nabal. She learns about her husband’s refusal and decides to act. What makes her actions costly is the defiance of her husband. She gathers food and goes out to meet David and his men. She takes her husband’s blame on herself. Imagine what could have happened to Abigail if her husband knew what she had done? According to verse 3, Abigail was a beautiful and intelligent woman. She was risking her life to save her family’s. She was willing to give up her riches to do what was right in the sight of God.

2. Ittai

Our second example comes from 2 Samuel 15. A military man named Ittai the Gittite. Ittai and his family lived in Gath and were familiar with King David. It had been 30 years since David had left his home near Gath and become King. On the voyage out of Jerusalem, since Prince Absalom had declared war against his father David, Ittai and David meet again.

What is amazing in this story is that Ittai decided to follow David and protect him from his enemies. He was loyal to him. Ittai chose to pick up his family and march along with David, most likely knowing there was a chance they could die in an attack. Everything he had was left behind to carry out his duty to King David and his Lord.

3. Shiphrah and Puah

Our third example is two women who decided that God would protect them and His people if they looked toward him, instead of to Pharaoh. Exodus 1:15 states “The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives – the first whose name was Shiphrah and the second whose name was Puah.” Shiprah and Puah were Hebrew midwives living in Egypt at the time of Pharaoh’s oppression of the Israelites who had been there since the time of Jacob.

The king of Egypt tells Shiprah and Puah to kill any male child born to an Israelite woman because he feared they would continue to spread and revolt. These two women defied the Pharaoh of Egypt and refused to kill the male babies. They tell Pharaoh that Israelite women give birth before the midwives can get to them in order to protect their people. Their fear of God overcame their fear of Pharaoh.

All three examples show us that the cost of following God can be high. It can include leaving everything we have always known behind and even taking our last breath.

How Can We Live This Out Today?

Today we often believe the thought that we can follow God and still hold on to what we have. All the things we have worked for are important. We believe we need all of our stuff in order to live a content life.

God is still calling people to sell their dream home and follow Him. He is calling people to give up the amenities of American life and move overseas to spread the Gospel. God still says to share your wealth with others and His kingdom through sacrificial giving. We are called to be ready at any time to renounce our possessions. There is no negotiation in this matter.

Today we must realize that although we are not marching across a desert like the Israelites or fighting battles with the Philistines, we are still fighting the inward battle to follow God no matter how hard or how much it cost.

My personal experience has taught me that all that stuff doesn’t mean a thing. Its only purpose was immediate satisfaction and then to collect dust. I cherished the farm my family had, the singlewide we made memories in, and the collectibles given to me by family and friends. I didn’t want to let all that go. But in order to follow God, I had to. Was it easy? No. Is it worth it? Yes.

Photo credit: Unsplash/Gift Habeshaw

Ashley Hooker is a freelance writer who spends her time homeschooling her two children, supporting her husband as he finishes school to become a pastor, and writing about her faith. Currently, she is a contributing author for Journey Christian magazine. She has taken part in mission trips with the NC Baptist Men during the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey in Mississippi and Texas. In her local church, she has served on various committees focusing in the area of evangelism along with traveling to West Virginia and Vermont to share the Gospel. Her dream is to spend her time writing and sharing the love of Christ with all she meets.