Picking Up and Laying Down

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Matthew 16:24-27

"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?
33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples."
Luke 14:25-28,33

Jesus calls to us, beckoning us: "This is my way, walk in it...deny yourself, pick up your own cross, you must lay everything else down in order to pick it up, even your own life, at my feet...prepare yourself, if you are committed to following me then your crucifixion is inevitable... but I am coming in my Father's glory and will reward you personally, a great eternal reward."
Laying down everything doesn't just mean the stuff we enjoy and value, things that keep us in a comfort zone, but all of our emotional baggage, brokenness, shame, anxiety, unbelief, negative thoughts and energies, too.
We will find our crosses to be heavy, but tailor made for each of us. Not too heavy to bear, just enough to cause us to strain, as we follow this narrow way fraught with stumbling blocks and potholes, God's Word will illuminate our way, perseverance is the fruit born of trials, our crucified selves will be destroyed, replaced by resurrected, renewed lives rewarded by Jesus Himself!
We can trust Him because He promises.