So, fellow believers, I beg you to give yourselves completely to God because of all He has done for you. Let your entire being become a living and holy sacrifice to God. It will be just what He’s looking for and He will accept it. This is the best way to worship Him.
This is my own paraphrase of Romans 12:1 and is pretty much a request from my heart to yours.
We who believe are fantastic at SAYING we’re believers or followers of Jesus, but when it comes to giving up anything—especially our time and wishes, ehh. We’re not so great at that. We think that lifting hands during a worship song is a great sacrifice, that we are showing God just how much we love Him.
Oh yes! We should lift those holy hands in praise to our God!
Oh no! That should never be the end of it!
What’s a living, holy sacrifice look like in our day-to-day? It’s surrender. It’s being mindful of what God is calling you to in that moment.
You’re walking through the mall and you have a sense that the person sitting on the bench needs something. Stop your shop and sit down. It may be all they needed was someone to be there. It may be they need someone to notice them and speak to them. It may be that they need someone to listen, not condemn, but share love, mercy, and grace with them. The Father knows what they need, and He wants to use you, His hands and feet to provide that.
Maybe you’re on the interstate, headed toward your destination with a plan where to stop next, when you feel a compulsion to stop at the next exit, which is definitely not part of the plan. When you stop, you find a single mom short on cash in need of a new tire and God wants to provide that through you.
Maybe you’re busy cleaning house and the phone rings. It’s that friend you haven’t talked to in a while and they want to talk. As you listen, they share the deep hurt they’ve held and you hear their heart. You speak words of peace and grace to them and God heals that heart through your love.
There are so many ways we can be a living and holy sacrifice to God, and all require surrender on our part.
Once we give up our right to be in control, God can use us as He pleases where He chooses to accomplish what He wishes.
Notice that we’re talking about our entire being—not just our wallet. This is about giving up all of you for all of Him. It’s taking all the focus off you and your wants to put it on Him and His wants.
This never means neglecting your family! This is about loving God through loving others. It’s about being ready whenever and wherever to reveal Him to others—even in your own home. Most of the time, it’s doing so without personal recognition.
It’s time to put our God-Goggles on and give up our right to be in charge. Are you ready?
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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Faye Bryant is an author, coach, and speaker who helps individuals escape the lies of the enemy, live into God’s truth, and build a better life by first feeling, dealing, and healing their way through a stuck future or an abused past, toward a deeper path of purpose, and into the unhackable life of their chosen legacy. Hers is a story of resurrection: from death to life!
