So many souls refuse to entrust themselves to the Lord, not because they don’t believe Him, but because they don’t like what He says. Whether they say it out loud or not, they are still easy to identify, as their decision to reject truth manifests itself in every part of their lives. Many, even from within the church, reject the Word of God, whom they profess to serve, for no other reason than that He does not say what they want Him to say. They want reality to be different from what it is. The inescapable truth is that what I want has absolutely no bearing upon what is.

In Ruth 1:15-16, Naomi gave Ruth the opportunity to return to the life that she had always known, a life of certainty, familiarity, and the appearance of security. “But Ruth said, ‘Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.’” I have no doubt that Ruth had some deep emotional attachment to her former life. But once she entrusted herself to the Lord, she knew that to close her eyes and choose a life based on a lie would be unacceptable.

John 6:66-69 records a similar situation. Jesus’ teaching had driven many away who had been following Him. When they left, He turned to the twelve and asked: “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Peter answered: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” It doesn’t matter what you want. It doesn’t matter what I want. It doesn’t matter how we think the world ought to be. All that matters is that the Lord has spoken. Reality isn’t attractive. But in Jesus, redemption has been accomplished for all who entrust themselves to Him.