It’s Costly

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.” — John 14:27 

Choosing Christ over culture will cost you sometimes.

It may cost you a relationship.
It may cost you being included.
It may cost you being understood.
It may cost you someone you really wanted to keep.

And when you choose to WAIT, you may find out very quickly who respects your decision to honor God and who only respects it as long as it doesn’t inconvenience them.

That can hurt.

Let’s be real. Obedience doesn’t always feel good in the moment.

Sometimes doing what you know honors God means walking away when you would rather stay.

Sometimes it means saying no when every part of you wants to say yes.

Sometimes it means watching someone lose interest because you established boundaries they don’t want to respect.

That’s costly.

But in John 14:27, Jesus says something that the world simply cannot offer:

“My peace I give to you.”

Not the world’s peace.

Not the temporary peace that comes from getting what you want.

Not the kind of peace that disappears the moment circumstances change.

His peace.

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples as He prepared them for what was coming. Their circumstances were not about to become easier. Yet He promised them a peace that was different from anything the world could give.

That matters for us too.

Culture will tell you that peace comes from doing whatever feels right.

Following your desires.

Keeping the relationship.

Avoiding loneliness.

Giving in because, Everybody does it anyway.

But getting what you want and having peace are not always the same thing.

You can get the relationship and lose your peace.

You can give in and spend the next few days wishing you hadn’t.

You can compromise your convictions just to keep someone around and still end up feeling unsettled inside.

That’s because the world cannot give you what Jesus gives.

There may be moments when choosing Christ costs you something you really wanted.

Choose Him anyway.

There may be moments when WAITing feels lonely.

Choose Him anyway.

There may be someone who decides they cannot continue with you because sex is not an option.

Let them make that decision.

You do not have to compromise what God has convicted you to do just to keep someone comfortable.

The cost of obedience can feel real, but so can the peace of knowing you did not abandon your convictions just to be accepted.

And no, choosing Christ does not mean everything will immediately feel easy.

You may still grieve.

You may still miss them.

You may still wonder what could have been.

But you can walk through all of that with the peace Jesus gives.

A peace that does not depend on who stayed.

A peace that does not disappear because someone walked away.

A peace that culture cannot manufacture.

Choosing Christ may cost you something.

But compromising your convictions will never give you what only Jesus can:

His peace.

Keep WAITing.

He is worth it.