The Strait and Narrow Way

Matthew 7:13-14

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Did you know that the word strait in these verses does not mean straight? Today is the 20th anniversary of my salvation and all these years, I thought that strait was just the old English or King James Version spelling of straight. But it’s not. Today, I want to tell you the story of my salvation and how the word strait applies not only to the Christian Life Journey but also to your work-from-home journey

My pastor preached a sermon on Matthew 7:13-14 at church this last Sunday and let me first say, that ever since I watched the movie, Facing the Giants, when I read these verses, my brain reads them in the voice of Coach Hawkns when he explains to David the soccer player how to kick a field goal during practice. He likens kicking the ball through the goalpost to the strait and narrow way. You can go watch that scene. One of my all-time favorite movie scenes.

The word “strait” in Matthew 7:13-14 means To cramp (literally or figuratively), adversary, afflict, besiege, bind, bind up, distress, narrower, oppress, pangs, shut up, be in trouble,

What is this saying about our Christian journey? It means it’s hard, it’s not straight.

Think of it this way, when you are on the interstate, it is straight, smooth, flat and you can drive fast. You don’t have to think. You can sit back, put the cruise on, and zone out in your mind. Now, compare that to a narrow, windy, country road with hills and curves. You have to pay attention, slow down, and focus.

As is the Christian Life. . . The unbelievers of the world are many, on the superhighway to Hell. It is not something we like to think about, but please read your Bible. There are more verses about Hell than Heaven. Anyway, unbelievers are Going with the flow, conforming with the traffic, not having to think about it. Just living their life how they want.

Now, as a Christian who has repented which literally means, to turn around, repent of your sin, and start following Jesus. Imagine you have turned around on the superhighway you are going against the traffic. You better be paying attention. It won’t be an easy road, it is a strait path. You will meet opposition, you will meet trials and tribulations. But you have a Shepherd who leads the way.

Since it is the anniversary of my salvation, I want to take a few minutes to tell you how I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, I was on the broad way. I was going about my life, trying to fill an emptiness that I had in my heart. I tried to fill it with relationships, with education, with traveling, sadly, with alcohol. Nothing satisfied.

I do not want to go into a lot of details, but by the time I was in my 20s, I was desperate to fill this emptiness that I had in my heart. Nothing satisfied the longing that I had. I had had a few people tell me about Jesus over the years, but I brushed it off and thought it was foolishness.

Then I had a series of events happen in my life. I had broken off my latest relationship. I lost my job, and I got kicked out of my apartment. I went to a counselor for help. She told me there wasn’t anything mentally wrong with me, but I was just going through a rough patch in my life. She offered to put me on antidepressants, which I refused.

So then she offered me a set of cassette tapes, yes, I am old, which helped with your coping skills. These tapes suggested praying to a higher power. I thought that was a good idea. I tried going to a Buddhist temple, I tried Eastern religious meditation, and finally, I decided to read the Bible. And like most people, I started in Genesis. It was difficult to understand and I gave up.

At the same time, a coworker from the job that I had just left sent me a letter with a Christian Tract. It said “Since I became a Christian, I have a peace that I never had before” I wanted that peace. I didn’t have that peace. I wrote back to my co-worker, thinking that I was going to debunk Christianity, but instead, when I researched the discrepancies in the Bible, the Holy Spirit started working and I couldn’t find the discrepancies.

I am making a long story short, I started listening to Christian radio and Finally, one day, while driving down a highway, it clicked. There was nothing that I could do to earn favor with God. I could only put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ and accept Him as my savior. And that is what I did.

From there, I repented of my sins, started attending a Bible preaching church, I devoured the Bible. I did these things because of my love for Jesus Christ. Not to earn my way to Heaven. That was settled when I accepted His free gift of salvation.

Fast forward, Jesus gave me a second chance at life. He gave me peace in my heart. He has given me a Christian husband and 5 children. He has given me wonderful Christian friends. He has walked with me every step of the way over the past 20 years. I am so thankful for His unending grace and mercy towards me. His patience when I fail and His tender mercy always.

Has it always been an easy road? No, it hasn’t. But He is faithful. He walks with me on this strait and narrow way. He makes a way as I follow Him in obedience.

We can also liken our Christian work-from-home journey to the strait and narrow way.

First of all, please understand, that salvation is a supernatural event that is offered to each of us. I am not saying working from home is that.

What I am saying is that there are many ways to earn money, both outside the home and online. It is a broad way, but as I have explained since the beginning of the podcast, you are on the narrow way. You are not following the world’s way of making money, you are following God’s way. You may desire to stay home with your children. Working from home takes time, it takes effort. Sometimes it takes steps of faith that you don’t understand.

I just experienced a step of faith that doesn’t make a lot of sense on the surface. I have mentioned before that I had a website about saving money on groceries that had a large Facebook group to go along with it. I had laid it aside since I started this podcast. Well, last week, I thought, maybe I should go back to that website and that group. So I put a post in the group about how big our group had grown. I thought, oh, I can have this as another source of income while I build my coaching business. Then I started praying about it, and the next day, I received confirmation that nope, it was time to shut down the group and focus on my podcast and coaching. Since it is so fresh, I don’t want to go into a lot of the details, but today is the day, that I am shutting down the group. I have peace about it.

I desire to help Christian Moms like you find meaningful work from home. That is my focus. A couple of weeks ago, when I interviewed Vivian about Work-Life Balance. I knew that I was out of balance and that I needed to do a better job letting go of things that do not focus on my faith and family or help me serve the women who listen to this podcast.

I like to have a call to action at the end of each article. Today’s is simply this.

Please ask yourself, do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

Are you following Him in obedience?

If you have questions about what this means, please send me an email at [email protected] I would be happy to answer any questions that you have.

Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

When I heard that sermon, I thought I wish everyone could be on the strait and narrow way that leads to life, but we all have a choice. God doesn’t force anyone to choose the narrow way. We have a freewill. Choose wisely, Friend.

Download this pdf to learn more about this important decision.