Which Pain Will You Choose?

• By candidasullivan
• February 3, 2026
• No Comments

What will happen if you don’t follow the Lord and use the gifts He gave you? Have you ever truly confronted the price of disobedience and comfort?

The promise of a blessing doesn’t always motivate me. It doesn’t push me forward when I want to give up. The possibility of a reward doesn’t get me up at 4 a.m., have me exercising in the cold, or help me to keep going when I’m struggling.

Do you know what truly motivates me and stirs my soul?

The cost of not doing it.

When I did the 75 Hard challenge, I didn’t imagine the reward of completing it or the joy of celebrating at the end. I imagined something tragic happening to my kids if I didn’t. That painful image pushed me through each day and every ounce of discomfort. Those hard thoughts helped me focus on what I wanted and endure the hardship to get there.

It was the same way when I quit smoking. Instead of thinking of all the benefits of quitting, I focused on what would happen if I didn’t. I saw myself struggling to breathe. I imagined being at my son’s high school graduation, weak and dependent on an oxygen tank. I pictured leaving my family too soon because I chose a habit over them.

I allowed myself to feel the weight of those possibilities.

Then, I turned it around.

I pictured the opposite. I saw my best possible life. I was healthy. I exercised and hiked with my kids. I was present for their big moments and joyful occasions.

Sometimes, we need to look at both paths.

When we stand at the crossroads of life, it can be incredibly powerful to imagine what each road leads to. If you continue on the path you’re on right now, what will your life look like?

I did this very exercise this morning.

I made a list of what my life would look like if I followed the Lord and fully used the gifts He has given me. I saw beautiful blessings. I felt love, joy, and peace.

Then I made a list of what my life would look like if I chose comfort, delay, and disobedience.

The price of that path felt unbearable.

It would crush my soul. It would leave me with regret, broken dreams, and a quiet ache that never goes away. Reading the consequences of that choice broke my heart.

And it scared me enough to move.

I may struggle, fail, and fall down continuously, but I will not give up. The price is too high. I can’t bear the thought of living with the pain of disobedience.

So, I’m choosing to follow the Lord—even when I don’t understand—and trusting Him to help me.

1 Peter 3:17 KJV
For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

Today, I encourage you to be honest with yourself.

Are you standing at a crossroads in your life?

What does each path look like?

And which one will you take?

When we make the decision to follow the Lord, He gives us what we need to do it. We just have to trust Him with every part of our lives.