Sacrifice
Okay, I am sore. They warned me in the class this morning and they were right. My body is wondering what the heck I did to it. I am glad I went, but I have got to stick with it so I don't hurt so much! Once again, I am feeling how much harder it is to get back into a routine the older I get. I say it every year but hopefully I will really stick with it this time! I have my goals, and they are realistic not something crazy like trying to fit into a size 2 by swimsuit season. I was reading today in my quiet time about sacrifice. In Genesis I read about how Noah watched God's promises unfold and how he must have felt such peace knowing the sacrifice was worth it. I read in Matthew when Jesus approached his disciples and called them to follow him; what a sacrifice that must have been to leave everything they knew, and leave their families wondering what on earth they were doing. Finally I read in Psalm 4 about God's provision for His children, the peace, the blessing, the rest He promises to provide. Verses 4-5 read:
Don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. Offer proper sacrifices, and trust in the Lord.
Throughout my quiet time I found this to be clear--we must turn, we must trust, and we must be willing to sacrifice. The sacrifice? I don't know what that looks like for everyone else, but for me it is daily denying what I think I need, and seeking what God desires for me. I am reading a financial self help book a friend offered us after we moved and in it he points out the key to reaching financial freedom is 80% behavior, 20% head knowledge. Don't quote me on that but that is the basic idea. I know in my head what to do, I have read it, studied it, spoken it, and made some attempts at living it but it hasn't clicked completely til now. My spiritual walk needs to be executed in the same way I think. Nobody but God can read my mind, he knows my thoughts, my heart, my soul so how will the world know I desire to be more like Christ and I am making the sacrifice? I must live it, act upon it and show that not matter how this life boxes me around I will stand with great joy upon the promise God has made: I am His, His chosen, His set apart to be blessed and to experience greater joy than I can possibly imagine. That's good stuff.
Don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. Offer proper sacrifices, and trust in the Lord.
Throughout my quiet time I found this to be clear--we must turn, we must trust, and we must be willing to sacrifice. The sacrifice? I don't know what that looks like for everyone else, but for me it is daily denying what I think I need, and seeking what God desires for me. I am reading a financial self help book a friend offered us after we moved and in it he points out the key to reaching financial freedom is 80% behavior, 20% head knowledge. Don't quote me on that but that is the basic idea. I know in my head what to do, I have read it, studied it, spoken it, and made some attempts at living it but it hasn't clicked completely til now. My spiritual walk needs to be executed in the same way I think. Nobody but God can read my mind, he knows my thoughts, my heart, my soul so how will the world know I desire to be more like Christ and I am making the sacrifice? I must live it, act upon it and show that not matter how this life boxes me around I will stand with great joy upon the promise God has made: I am His, His chosen, His set apart to be blessed and to experience greater joy than I can possibly imagine. That's good stuff.
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