The Fear Of Life Getting Worse If You Give Your Life Up To Jesus Christ

Question: I am thinking of becoming a Christian, but am afraid life will get worse if I give my life up to God. I have heard people say everything went haywire after they became a Christian and don’t want that to happen to me. What if I give up a good life for a bad one? Or what if my already hard life just gets worse?

Answer: Those who are non-Christian or lukewarm Christians often report that their life got worse (at least, before it got better) after they decided to follow Jesus Christ.

As I look back to my own life around the time I converted to Christianity around seven years ago, I didn’t experience any dramatic negative upheavals. In terms of my actual lifestyle, it was pretty mild and ordinary.

I wasn’t drinking, doing drugs, or surrounded by a bunch of bad influences. I don’t say that in a judgmental way towards others but to illustrate how, in terms of the external world, there weren’t the kind of sacrifices a person who may have been living that kind of life may have had to deal with.

However, I did have a similar fear of life getting worse if I became a Christian.

At the time, I was heavily drawn to Law Of Attraction teachings and worried that if I became a Christian, then I would subscribe to belief systems that may possibly make life harder. And then there was the fear of Christianity not being the truth, because then maybe my suffering would be in vain.

I wrestled with this fear for quite some time. Wanting to surrender my life to Jesus, but also being afraid of what would happen if I did.

Here is the verse that changed things for me:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

-Jeremiah 29:11

Due to the belief that us human beings create our own reality, I had become so accustomed to being self-willed. Of course, being self-willed is a human condition, even among Christians, but I didn’t know that being led by God was one of the hallmarks of the Christian faith.

The interesting thing is, our beliefs are indeed very powerful and profoundly shape our lives. However, what many manifestation/reality creation teachings tend to discount is God’s sovereignty.

To be clear, they usually do believe there is some kind of Higher Power, but since this is usually viewed as an impersonal force as opposed to a personal God, the sovereignty of God is thought of somewhat as an afterthought. There is no greater “plan” a God has for us and we are essentially the chief orchestrator of our lives.

I would often reflect on the words, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

I had to realize that trusting in God meant believing that what He had in plan for me was better than what I had in mind, and if this were the case, submitting to it would be for my highest good. When people have been strongly influenced by New Thought ideas, without a truthful counterbalance, people tend to not want to give up control because they fear they will not be able to experience their dreams.

Another thing to understand is that God knows your yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Or let’s put it more gravely: He knows your yesterday, today, and forever. He truly knows what is best for you, not only in this temporary earthly life but also your eternal life.

God knows your yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

So while it may seem like you are losing one kind of life, you gain another if Jesus calls you to Him and you let Him be Lord over your life. While God does want us to have earthly blessings, He is most concerned with what is best for our regeneration, our salvation.

In addition, you may not know how your life would have ended up if you didn’t become a Christian, so that is another thing to keep in mind if you fear converting because you worry life will get worse.

Since God knows if we are meant to be Christian in our lives, resisting making Jesus the lord over your life just delays the inevitable struggles we would have to encounter anyway. However, it is important to keep in mind that these struggles are not to be interpreted as a mechanism of control so we can submit to Him. Rather, they are things that are allowed within divine providence for our greater regeneration.

So to conclude, trust in God! Know He has your highest good in mind.

Additional study recommendations:

• Divine Providence by Emanuel Swedenborg is a great text for understanding how God works intimately through the circumstances of our lives.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

- Matthew 11:28-30