Are You Willing to Sacrifice?
Posted by Linda L. Johnson on Sunday, November 5, 2017
By Sister Felicia, Blog Contributor
Sister Felicia serves as a blog contributor on behalf of The Ministry of Linda L. Johnson
Blog #2
EMAIL: fmland32@gmail.com
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16….This is probably the most well-known bible verse today. However, do we really know what God did? The bible tells us that God “gave” his only son, Jesus, so that we, man/woman, could be saved. Giving is often not easy. God gave His only son, Jesus. Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice. This was a choice. Vocabulary.com defines sacrifice as “a loss or surrender of something for the sake of a better cause”. God saw us as a cause worth saving. What great love He has for us!
The bible tells us to mirror our lives to Jesus. In the area of sacrificing, are we willing to do so? I’m not suggesting that we sacrifice our children, but are we willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of anyone or anything else? We as humans are often selfish creatures. If we see benefit for ourselves, we’re all in! If we’re required to give something great of ourselves, we often make excuses of why we cannot. Let’s face it, sacrifice is hard! Some things are easy to sacrifice, but when we’re in an intimate relationship with God, He knows the “thing” we do not want to give up. Maybe God has asked you to be a financial blessing to someone for an amount greater than you’re willing to give or maybe God has asked you to give a considerable amount of your time to the ministry or maybe he’s asked you to let go of a relationship you value. Are you willing to say yes Lord, your will be done?
There are countless examples in the bible where God did not act, save or bless until He seen the sacrifice made that He asked for. Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. God did not provide the ram in the bush until God saw Abraham’s willingness to do as God had instructed. Queen Esther was asked to go before the king for the sake of saving her people. Only after she was obedient did God save the Jewish people. Ruth sacrificed her life to take care of her mother-in-law Naomi. Only after she was shown faithful to Naomi did God bless her with her husband Boaz.
What is God asking you to sacrifice today? Are you following his guidance, trusting that He knows the plan He has for you? Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that His plan for us is to prosper us, not to harm us and to give us hope and a future! I’ll be honest, it’s hard to see those plans when God asks us to sacrifice because we’re seeing with the natural eye. Remember, God’s thoughts and our thoughts differ. We are required to trust and have faith in him when we cannot see a thing! We’re required to see through spiritual lenses, aligning our thoughts with the Word of God. God’s Word cannot lie. He is faithful, but only if we trust and expect Him to come through in HIS timing, not ours!
Seeing that this is a relationship blog, I want to tie it all together. A healthy relationship/marriage will require MANY sacrifices. We ask God for a spouse, but some of us are not yet ready to sacrifice much for them. We want to be blessed. We want them to help us financially. We want them to add to us, but have we thought about we are going to add or what we may have to sacrifice/ give up in the marriage in order for it to work?
Please know this, God will not send you a spouse until you are ready. In the meantime, be sure you’re allowing God to prune you, mold you and shape you into the man or woman of God He’s designed you to be. This process often is not fun, but it is necessary for your marriage to survive. The very first step is to offer your own life to God as a sacrifice, allowing Him to be Lord. Are you willing to make this sacrifice today?
- By Sister Felicia
Sister Felicia serves as a blog contributor on behalf of The Ministry of Linda L. Johnson
Sister Felicia serves as a blog contributor on behalf of The Ministry of Linda L. Johnson
Blog #2
EMAIL: fmland32@gmail.com
Are You Willing to Sacrifice?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16….This is probably the most well-known bible verse today. However, do we really know what God did? The bible tells us that God “gave” his only son, Jesus, so that we, man/woman, could be saved. Giving is often not easy. God gave His only son, Jesus. Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice. This was a choice. Vocabulary.com defines sacrifice as “a loss or surrender of something for the sake of a better cause”. God saw us as a cause worth saving. What great love He has for us!
The bible tells us to mirror our lives to Jesus. In the area of sacrificing, are we willing to do so? I’m not suggesting that we sacrifice our children, but are we willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of anyone or anything else? We as humans are often selfish creatures. If we see benefit for ourselves, we’re all in! If we’re required to give something great of ourselves, we often make excuses of why we cannot. Let’s face it, sacrifice is hard! Some things are easy to sacrifice, but when we’re in an intimate relationship with God, He knows the “thing” we do not want to give up. Maybe God has asked you to be a financial blessing to someone for an amount greater than you’re willing to give or maybe God has asked you to give a considerable amount of your time to the ministry or maybe he’s asked you to let go of a relationship you value. Are you willing to say yes Lord, your will be done?
There are countless examples in the bible where God did not act, save or bless until He seen the sacrifice made that He asked for. Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. God did not provide the ram in the bush until God saw Abraham’s willingness to do as God had instructed. Queen Esther was asked to go before the king for the sake of saving her people. Only after she was obedient did God save the Jewish people. Ruth sacrificed her life to take care of her mother-in-law Naomi. Only after she was shown faithful to Naomi did God bless her with her husband Boaz.
What is God asking you to sacrifice today? Are you following his guidance, trusting that He knows the plan He has for you? Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that His plan for us is to prosper us, not to harm us and to give us hope and a future! I’ll be honest, it’s hard to see those plans when God asks us to sacrifice because we’re seeing with the natural eye. Remember, God’s thoughts and our thoughts differ. We are required to trust and have faith in him when we cannot see a thing! We’re required to see through spiritual lenses, aligning our thoughts with the Word of God. God’s Word cannot lie. He is faithful, but only if we trust and expect Him to come through in HIS timing, not ours!
Seeing that this is a relationship blog, I want to tie it all together. A healthy relationship/marriage will require MANY sacrifices. We ask God for a spouse, but some of us are not yet ready to sacrifice much for them. We want to be blessed. We want them to help us financially. We want them to add to us, but have we thought about we are going to add or what we may have to sacrifice/ give up in the marriage in order for it to work?
Please know this, God will not send you a spouse until you are ready. In the meantime, be sure you’re allowing God to prune you, mold you and shape you into the man or woman of God He’s designed you to be. This process often is not fun, but it is necessary for your marriage to survive. The very first step is to offer your own life to God as a sacrifice, allowing Him to be Lord. Are you willing to make this sacrifice today?
- By Sister Felicia
Sister Felicia serves as a blog contributor on behalf of The Ministry of Linda L. Johnson