Dear Reader,
Do you believe there is a sacrifice to believing?
Can I share my thoughts with you? This ended up getting longer than intended -but until I know God’s will, I can make the sacrifice of believing that this is HIS work and He will use it as HE wills. I ask you for your patience with me. This is from my heart of God to you. I hope it is a blessing, even if in part!
I believe to believe in something we have to be willing to sacrifice something. I believe we could substitute the word “surrender” for sacrifice. I am going somewhere with this –because to believe in God, we have to be willing to sacrifice what we want. To sacrifice what we want, we have to believe God is greater and His plans exceed ours. God knows the long term and God has a purpose, which always winds back around to the longevity of love.
We have to be willing to sacrifice our thoughts to believe. We have to sacrifice our pride and selfish ambition, whether big or small. We have to sacrifice our doubts to believe!
Why would a doubt be a sacrifice?
If we believe, then we have to surrender to believing that God is Sovereign! Accepting God’s will is a sacrifice of believing in itself! If we are honest with our self, in the face of a difficult challenge, we prefer to believe that we know what is best –and we typically prefer the easy way out! If we believe we know best, wouldn’t that actually be a doubt in believing that God has a plan? A doubt doesn’t have to be very big to extinguish the power of faith! If we allow doubt and fear to grow in our heart, isn’t that a doubt that God knows what HE is doing? Believing rests in Trust. Where we place our trust is important; just as finding our faith to rest in God is important. Whatever we choose, there is a willing sacrifice of self-will in seeking God’s! But doubt can get in the way -unless we are willing to sacrifice doubt to believe and trust God.
Wisdom from God is available to every believer in Christ! I encourage you to find your faith in your situation!
In some situations, we don’t want to admit what we don’t want to believe… Sometimes difficult things challenge our faith to choose to doubt instead, because of human emotions and what we want to protect. However, there is a sacrifice to believing in God –there is a sacrifice to being a follower of Christ Jesus, God’s Holy Son! God has provided for every sacrifice we are called to make because we believe!!!
You may have heard my motto before? “I don’t have it all figured out, BUT God does … FOLLOW JESUS!” This gives me courage when I feel weak! This reminds me of my affirmation of my faith! Why did Peter want to walk on the water? Who held him up? What did Peter have to sacrifice to get out of the safety of that boat in order to walk on the water? Think about these things and ask God to help you apply your faith to the challenges that are facing you in your life! Jesus will be your help and shield if you will only make the sacrifice of believing!
If you are of a different faith than I –I challenge you to consider your sacrifices that you make to believe in your faith. I am here to explore my faith and share with you. I believe, so this is my sacrifice! I believe the Lord woke me up this morning to share with you as the Lord is helping me overcome these things of what I did not understand in my own life until now.
Can I share with you that I have seen many miracles! I believe and trust God unconditionally! Jesus is my Savior and Lord. I have learned; and am growing in my understanding of how to pray the Spiritual prayers (God’s will). Yet, emotionally, I have prayed my emotional will (at least) two times and asked God for what I wanted without considering God’s purpose, because I wanted God to take it away instead of leading us through! Perhaps you can relate in some way? The Lord Jesus corrected me and helped me.
Through the sacrifice of believing, we are enabled to pray “God’s will be done” and trust God unconditionally!
I believe in God; and I believe God is able to do all things! But many times, we can want to pray for what we want, because we can think that we can’t face any other option. God is Truth, but what we think is not always completely true. We can doubt or we can believe. We can face all things with God; and we can overcome all things through Christ who gives us strength! We want to pray for escape! And we can run and think we can hide from our situation. However, Escape prayers are not always God’s will for us –nor for either of my two prayers that I prayed. Both of these prayers involved what I wanted –emotionally. Yet, I had to surrender to God’s will, which meant that I had to sacrifice what I wanted. It was God who convinced me to change my mind –Yet, I had to sacrifice my doubt to seek God’s will for the absolute certainty in my faith!
Doubt? Me? This just doesn’t sound right, because believing faith is my relationship with God. Yet, my believing faith is what the enemy of God wants to destroy! If my faith is weak, then there is a hidden doubt that I can’t see, yet I watched that doubt grow to fear! There is a sacrifice of believing in this Scripture found in the book of Jude:
A Call to Persevere
…19These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. 20But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.…
Why? Why would I be up this morning telling you that there is a sacrifice to believing in God? Especially, now that I have confessed that the sacrifice involves what we want! Does that sound like a good thing to you? After all, don’t we live in a world that teaches us we deserve our wants and to go for our wants –supersize all you want to; like that is really a good thing for us??
I sacrifice my wants, because I trust God’s will! Indeed, God also gives us the desires of our heart when they are good for us. But we can most assuredly trust that God sees the whole picture. God’s plan is good and that is good enough for me. It is a sacrifice of believing -NOT to need to figure everything out. “Lean not on your own understanding” is the way the Bible states that.
Proverbs 3:5-6New King James Version (NKJV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct[a] your paths.
It took me a long time to pray for God to take my dad on to Heaven! Too much to share in this post, but can I share with you that I wanted God to raise my dad out of that hospital bed and be my dad for the rest of my life here on this earth! I wanted God to allow Jesus to heal my cancer without the surgery, but God taught me, to pray: “never-the-less Father, your will be done!”
Now, I am faced with more challenges as a wife, and I wanted to pray for God to do what I wanted, but I prayed my want and not God’s will. And, I wanted to believe that “emotional” prayer! I prayed the “easy way out”. I wanted to believe my prayer to protect my husband from certain things. But God has taught me the Sacrifice of Believing is also accepting God has BOTH a purpose and a plan, BOTH of which are good! And, so my husband will have to go through some things to be completely healed in this trial and gain yet another testimony! Praise God, for we now have peace and assurance in our faith! We will appreciate your prayers at this time too!
Can I share something else, I am scared. Last night, this girl of great faith felt like a bird that was shot and hit the ground. I was scared that God was going to take my husband and I am not ready. Just like God took my dad. My faith took a hit once again! But Praise God, God has built me up in my most holy faith to stand strong once again Happy in the Lord!
And, this morning I understand better.
Let me explain. God didn’t take my dad and leave me hanging! God was with me through it all! God was with my entire family through it all. God didn’t take me to surgery and drop me off to survive! God was right there with me through it all! Can I tell you something? I wouldn’t trade the experience for all that I gained!
I could name time and time again, where God has brought us through fearful times –and even joyful times, but the one thing that is consistent is that there is a sacrifice to believing.
There is a sacrifice of believing involved in finding a place with Christ in being content in the situation: And, God does this amazing thing. Think about this: If we are concerned about pleasing God and we seek His will, this faith pleases God that we want to please God more than we want the thing we want.
There is a sacrifice of believing involved with patience. We can talk to God about our need or desire; and ask God what do we do? But patience is a sacrifice to God! The sacrifice of believing that God hears our prayers. The sacrifice of believing God’s Word to the point of obedience found in Psalm 46:10!
Psalm 46:10King James Version (KJV)
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
God’s time proves to be sovereign and good! So, there also is the sacrifice of endurance!
Consider this. Sometimes, we may get tired of believing??? The Sacrifice of believing involves obedience, which is choosing to “never tire of doing the right thing.” Can it seem easier to ignore or deny God’s Word of instructions to us? The fact is, unconditionally of our beliefs, we are going to have to go through some stuff here on this earth. The difference is who is our help and shield and where we end up in the end? Sometimes, we may want to question why God is allowing us to go through difficult times. There again, there is a sacrifice to believe God is Sovereign when we don’t understand. Sometimes, believing God challenges us to sacrifice our ideas for God’s plans. Again, isn’t this an example of the sacrifice of believing?
My life prayer is Lord, help me keep my thoughts agreeable to God’s Will. The Bible says in Romans 12:2King James Version (KJV)
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Now, if you are still with me in your reading, consider what God told me a long time ago:
“What are you going to get if you give up?” “Are you going to give up on God?”
There is a temptation that comes to me often to give up! To give up on ministry; to give up hope –but dear reader, What will I get if I give up on hope to doubt; and place my trust in the fears that come to me?
The encouraging question really is, what will we get if we continue to make the sacrifices to believe?
Find your faith.
Keep your faith.
Stay encouraged in your faith!
There is a sacrifice to believing! If you don’t believe in God –or HIS love for you, then I challenge you to consider, what do you believe? And, what sacrifices do you make to believe in what you already believe? How is that working out for you?
Are you sacrificing your finances to save your tithes to God? I encourage you to take that in a second. And, Pray about this to God. This is just one of my many testimonies that I see people still struggling with in Today. Have you learned the value in sacrificing your tithes to God? Tithing actually and ironically saves your finances! Tithes are a sacrifice of believing! And, there is a reward to (pure) faith. A sacrifice is not to get something. A sacrifice is grateful heart dedication for what you already have been given by God. The sacrifice of believing.
Once, before my son was born, and after God had revealed to me what Tithing meant to Him -Fear come to me about our finances! I began to save my tithes to protect our checkbook balances! I blindly placed my hope in my checkbook and in my ability! There was no way that I could save enough for a lifetime, but I didn’t look that far ahead! My justification was that I couldn’t afford to tithe with a new baby coming in 2 months! We had decided also that I would quit my job to raise our son. Our checkbook was definitely no guarantee, but I put my faith right there! Out of fear, I quit tithing for almost 2 months! But God got our attention and we learned that we couldn’t afford NOT to tithe!
Out of the provisions of God, we ended up spending way more money during that time than the 10% I stole from God! After we prayed and made that sacrifice of believing, things immediately changed and we have been blessed ever since. Our son is now 10 years old! I will not NOT tithe! This is the sacrifice of my believing faith!
The sacrifice of believing has evidence in the Truth of God!
Have you experienced the blessings in following Christ?
A sacrifice is by done by God’s grace! We have nothing to give but what God has first given us -including our life! A sacrifice of believing faith comes up from a grateful heart to God who has accomplished for us more than we can fathom in our limited human understandings!
Can you measure the depth of water in the sea? With complete accuracy? God knows even the lie of the land under the sea with each changing wave! This is how great our God is!
You can even believe in nothing -and there is a sacrifice to be made in believing in nothing. Life is not a gamble. Life is a job assignment to the faith that we believe in. Yet, there is only ONE sacrifice for LIFE and that is believing on Jesus as God’s Son, who come to die and to live for you so you may live and have life.
God has a hope for you that is far greater than money can buy!
The thought come to me that perhaps you are out of work? Are you willing to take the job God provides as a starting ground; and work hard as you are working for the Lord? A “sacrifice of believing”. Not every job is our blessing, but if it is by grace, according to the Word of God and in your faith that God is blessing your dedicated and faithful heart, A blessing is a gift from God that is received by us with praise and thanksgiving.
There is a sacrifice of believing to read the Bible! Do you believe that Gods’ Written Word will guide you in a good way? Do you believe that the Bible details God’s Morals for us to follow? There is a sacrifice of believing to use our precious time and learn about the character of God. If we do as we please, or skip reading God’s Word, do we believe that God has a message in His Word to direct our paths to living blessed with God!
It is all for our benefit!
There is a sacrifice of believing to let go of fear and the reward is JOY, which can be found.
There is a sacrifice of seeking to believe and the fact that you have read this far is a sacrifice to the Lord Today. God will draw you near to believe. I encourage you not to fear the sacrifice that believing will require!
God will ask you to change your mind about somethings you believe in; or have your mind made up about. But friend, I write to you today in a great joy to report the good news! Our faith to believe pleases God! Don’t be afraid to HOPE!
God sometimes allows us to go through somethings, so that we can relate in order to reach another with the HOPE that God is offering through HIS Son Jesus; –if only we will believe?
God values people and God uses our situations to reach people about the nature of our living God. Jesus, the LOVE and nature of God can become visible through our faith.
The choice is before us!
Will you do me a favor? Think on these things.
I encourage you to seek and you shall find your LIFE! This was worth my sacrifice of sleep today. This is worth my sacrifice of I think this is too long. This is my sacrifice of believing that God knows who will be here reading this message that HE is writing to you as well as me.
My testimony in this today: I left fear behind and gained my strength in HIS joy. Praise God for this miracle in me!!!
I hope you set your heart free to believe –there is a sacrifice of believing to let go of anger to accept God’s Sovereign Will that sometimes we have to go though some things for a little while. Jesus is coming back SOON –down the pike and whenever God chooses. There is a sacrifice of believing to forgive.
Would you like to learn how to forgive?
Believe on Jesus. Our hope is in God’s Son!
John 3:16-17King James Version (KJV)
16 For God SO loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
NOW
Proverbs 16:3Amplified Bible (AMP)
3 Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.
Proverbs 16:9Amplified Bible (AMP)
9 A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.
I believe a chair will hold me and so I sit. I can see and touch a chair; and have witnessed that a chair will hold me. So using my faith to sit in a chair is easy. There is an invisible God who is more capable to hold you than a chair that you can see! Seek Him and He will make Himself known to you in a way that you can believe!
But unless you sacrifice to Seek, how will you believe?
Love in Christ,
Karen Rowe
