Why does God make it so hard to follow Him?

Probing Proverbs 14:2 Those who follow the right path fear the LORD; those who take the wrong path despise him.

Centuries ago…when I was a young man, I excelled in math. I had 4.0 in 8^th grade math, then they put me in a new class called “Pre-Algebra” which was nothing more then a repeat of 8^th grade math. I aced it. The next year they had 3 different Algebra classes and I was put into the “advanced” class due to my grades the year before. Our teacher would basically post the work on the board and then depart. I failed quickly! I kept trying to figure out why “Pi” was “Pi?” No one would help me. In my Jr. year I had become a student that spent more time out of school then in! In my Sr. year we shipped to Hawaii where I knew that if I did not pass all 7 of my classes I would have to repeat.  Now my 3^rd try at Algebra…but this time I had a teacher that sat me down and explained “PI” to me. After a month I was still failing…and when I began making excuses she sat me down and nailed me! It was no longer that I did not understand the path…it was I was Unwilling to walk it!

When I finally submitted to just do what I know, I ended up with an “A” in the class! I realize the title to this Devo was provocative; that was deliberate. If we had no guidance from God, my question might be true, however, nothing is further from the truth! God has supplied to us not only the path, but also His mind and His heart to us. Everything we need to know concerning how to live in relationship with Him is in His Word. The reality is we want to do “our own thing” and demand that He accept that!

The issue is our heart…Jesus shared a clear picture in Matthew:

Matthew 21:28–32 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ “And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go.  “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.”

The So What: Are you confused on what God desires of you? What are you doing to try and learn? Do you “Make” (You will never “find”) time to study and meditate on the Scriptures? Have you made a conscious decision to follow God’s path? Do you think it will just happen, even though you know you are living with a fallen nature?