Costly Adjustments: When Obedience Gets Expensive
"For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." — 1 Peter 2:21 (ESV)
Nobody likes suffering. Most of us avoid it at all costs. But listen closely to what Peter says in 1 Peter 2:21 — we are called to suffer. Not warned about it. Not told to brace for it. But called to it. That's why Peter says Christ suffered and left that suffering as an example. He left it not as a warning or something to avoid, but as something to embrace and follow. Something to live into while on mission.
And that's why following in His steps can often be costly. You can't walk where Jesus walked and remain the same person, keep the same priorities, or hold on to the same things with the same grip. Something has to give. A relationship shifts. A career path changes. A comfort you've relied on is stripped away. What once felt optional suddenly feels urgent — and obedience becomes costly.
Now, following Jesus isn't only disruption and difficulty. God gives seasons of peace, clear direction, and deep joy along the way. But most of us don't struggle to trust Him in those seasons. It's the costly moments — the ones that feel like loss — that test our faith. And that's what Peter is addressing here.
Here's where most of us struggle: we expect the adjustment to be easy. But when following Jesus disrupts our plans, strains a relationship, or puts us at odds with those around us, we assume we've taken a wrong turn. We haven't. Peter's point is that the cost isn't evidence that something went wrong. It's evidence that we're walking in His steps.
Paul understood this, too. In Philippians 3:10, he wrote that he wanted to know Christ and "the fellowship of his sufferings" (NASB). That word — fellowship — is what makes this verse so striking. You don't use a word like fellowship to describe something you're trying to escape. Fellowship means closeness and shared experience. It implies something you draw near to, not something you pull away from.
And that's exactly Paul's point. He wasn't enduring the cost of following Jesus as an unavoidable reality of obedience. He was entering into it — because he understood that the suffering itself was where the intimacy lived. The cost wasn't keeping him from Christ. It was drawing him closer.
That reframes everything. The adjustment you're facing right now — the one that feels costly and uncomfortable — may be the very thing drawing you closer to Him. The cost isn't taking you off course. It's confirming you're on the right path.
Big Idea
Following Jesus can require costly adjustments — and the cost isn't a sign that something went wrong. It's the very path Christ walked and the example He left for you to follow. The adjustment isn't the obstacle to your faith. It is your faith in motion.
Questions to Ponder
What is the costliest adjustment you've had to make in following Jesus — and did you recognize it as part of the journey while you were in it, or only in hindsight? When following Jesus disrupts your comfort or plans, does your first instinct lean toward trust or resistance? What would it look like to see the current cost you're facing not as a burden but as fellowship with Christ?
Application
Identify one adjustment God is asking you to make right now — something that feels costly, uncomfortable, or disruptive. Instead of resisting or resenting it, bring it to the Lord and ask Him to show you how this cost is drawing you closer to Him. Write down 1 Peter 2:21 and place it where you'll see it daily. Let it remind you: the path of following is the path of cost, and the path of cost is the path of closeness.
Before the Lord — a daily devotional by Blake S. Crawford. Read more and subscribe free at blakescrawford.com/before-the-lord.