Profound yet practical reflections on the journey of faithful discipleship

Eugene Peterson’s A Long Obedience in the Same Direction is a deeply reflective and profoundly practical guide on what it means to follow Jesus faithfully in a world driven by instant gratification. This classic work is anchored in the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120–134), the ancient songs sung by pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem. They remind us that the life of discipleship is the life of a pilgrim. Peterson skilfully draws out the timeless relevance of each Psalm, illustrating how they speak to the disciple’s journey—a pilgrimage of faith.

Each chapter corresponds to one psalm and one theme, ranging from repentance and hope to joy and perseverance. Peterson’s exploration of these themes is anything but superficial. With poetic depth and theological precision, he unpacks the familiar in ways that feel startlingly fresh. He takes words and concepts that may seem simple at first glance and shows their profound implications for a life of discipleship. Reading this book is less like skimming through a manual and more like sitting down with a wise mentor who forces you to pause, reflect, and wrestle with the messiness of your faith journey.

Admittedly, when I first attempted to read this book over 20 years ago, I struggled. Peterson’s style—dense, poetic, and deeply contemplative—felt intimidating. Yet, revisiting it now, I appreciate its richness and depth. This is not a book to rush through. It demands patience, much like the long obedience it describes. Each chapter is like a meal to be savoured and digested slowly.

At the heart of the book is Peterson’s challenge to us to embrace discipleship as a lifelong commitment. He reminds us that following Jesus is not about fleeting moments of inspiration but about faithfulness in the mundane and the messy, the trials and the long stretches of ordinary life. The psalms he highlights often reflect the challenges of the life of faith, but Peterson shows how they also speak of God’s unwavering presence and preservation. In fact the reflections that stood out for me and were the most helpful were those on Joy and Happiness, and the final chapter on Blessing. He explains clearly and passionately that it is not the Christian life that is the hard life. It is the sinner’s life that is really hard. To live obediently and faithfully as a Christian is to live with the grain of God’s universe. Although he deals honestly with the reality of living as a pilgrim in a world that often feels hostile, some of the most striking chapters deal with the blessings of obedience (Psalm 128). The journey is not without hardship, but Peterson continually points to God’s faithfulness and the joy that comes from trusting him.

The epilogue, where Peterson emphasises the centrality of Scripture and prayer in the Christian life, is a fitting end. His thoughts on how to read the Bible are especially valuable, offering guidance that feels both profound and practical.

If you’re looking for a book that will challenge your perspective on discipleship and inspire you to embrace the long, sometimes arduous, but ultimately beautiful journey of following Christ, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction is a must-read. It’s a book to savour, reflect on, and return to time and time again.

Because each chapter is a distinct reflection in itself, there is little value in providing an outline of his thinking, but below are some taster quotes to whet your appetite. I hope there will soon be a LifeWord Summary to follow.

Taster Quotes

“There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.”

“The central reality for Christians is the personal, unalterable, persevering commitment God makes to us. Perseverance is not the result of our determination; it is the result of God’s faithfulness.”

“Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship; it is a consequence.”

“The Christian is a person who recognizes that our real problem is not in achieving freedom but in learning service under a better master.”

 “The psalms are great poetry and have lasted not because they appeal to our fantasies and our wishes but because they are confirmed in the intensities of honest and hazardous living.“

“The easiest thing in the world is to be a Christian. What is hard is to be a sinner. Being a Christian is what we were created for. The life of faith has the support of an entire creation and the resources of a magnificent redemption. The structure of this world was created by God so we can live in it easily and happily as his children. The history we walk in has been repeatedly entered by God, most notably in Jesus Christ, first to show us and then to help us live full of faith and exuberant with purpose. In the course of Christian discipleship we discover that without Christ we were doing it the hard way and that with Christ we are doing it the easy way.”

“We are so created and so redeemed that we are capable of enjoying him. All the movements of discipleship arrive at a place where joy is experienced. Every step of assent toward God develops the capacity to enjoy. Not only is there, increasingly, more to be enjoyed, there is steadily the acquired ability to enjoy it. Best of all, we don’t have to wait until we get to the end of the road before we enjoy what is at the end of the road.“

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