Give God Something He Can Feel

DAY 1
Giving God your all
(Daily Reading: Philippians 3:8; John 14:22-23; Hebrews 12:6)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.—Romans 12:1

For lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.—Psalm 73:27-28

The greatest offering or sacrifice we can give to God is ourselves. We are in a covenant relationship and we are serving a personal, relational God. Despite what scientists and theorists may say, he is a God that is mindful of man (Psalm 8:4) and wants a deeper intimacy with his creation. So, even in suffering, we prove our devotion to God in being a sacrifice as he was a sacrifice. Do you think you can be fully devoted without some pain and sacrifice? This is how we respond to a God that loves us so much that he gave his only begotten (John 3:16). Just as the love in a marriage is finalized once the two parties have presented their bodies, we do the same for God in the furthering of our intimacy with Him.
Paul defines this as the very least we can do: our reasonable service. In many other translations this “reasonable service” is even translated to our “reasonable worship” or the very least we can render to God. Wouldn’t it be something, if God was so pleased with your life that the way you lived became worship unto him? What if our lives were an aspect of the spiritual and truthful worship in which he requires of us in this last hour (John 4:23)?
He also qualifies how we should present ourselves. The Apostle states, we are to present ourselves “holy” and “acceptable” unto God. This is in reference to the sanctifying of a believer, or his setting apart. This will be a sacrifice because you must give up what is natural to you to please a God who is super-natural. These qualifications are necessary because there are those that will present themselves, but not in the manner in which God is requiring. For example, the Bible states that when the sons of God came, “Satan came also among them to present himself” (Job 2:1). We do not present ourselves as devils, but rather as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God. In this way, our relationship with God is literally brought into its fullness with sacrifice. He sacrificed His Son for us, and in response, we are to sacrifice ourselves. However, we are blessed in that we are sacrificed alive.
What does it mean to be sacrificed alive? Christ was a dead sacrifice and has paved the way for us to be living sacrifices. In essence, it means we must sometimes endure hardship and suffering for the sake of molding our character. This may also mean that we embrace some self-denial and selflessness that we would be pleasing to God. It also means that we “know him in the fellowship of his suffering and in the body of this death” (Philippians 3:10). The Psalmist says, “…I have put my trust in God that I may declare all his works.” In His sovereignty, He holds the right to take us through whatever is necessary to move us where He wants us to be in our relationship with Him. In this we will suffer, but the suffering is a result of true mercy and not true justice. If God were executing true justice, then we would all be worthy of death (Romans 6:23); even in our affliction and when evil comes upon us. St. Augustine suggests that, in the all knowingness of God, he allows evil so that he may be able to bring good even from evil or suffering.
The challenge for us is to be a people of God that are not only holy and acceptable unto God but in the world and in trial and in trouble. Your neighbor should experience the goodness of God through your goodness towards them. We are to be a people in whom He can manifest His divine work, regardless of the cards life may deal us. While He is working through us, we need to know that afflictions may come for the sake of His ultimate glory.
For example, I am a brain tumor survivor so I know what it is to live with what people have died. I am aware of having to be dependent upon medication to live a normal life but in never turning away from him and yielding my life and body to him in hard circumstances, God has blessed me supernaturally. He took me off medication that the doctor said I would be dependent upon for the rest of my life: with no complications! He allowed me to be a Dean’s list student and published author, when I was once qualified because of my handicap to be a slow learner. I say all this to say: give yourself to God regardless of what it cost you and He will give back!
Your Challenge for Day 1: If you are going to know Him, we may have to suffer, but the believer who suffers is worthy of reigning. Your challenge today is to realize that what you are facing may not be about you at all. You cannot quit because someone needs you. If not for someone else, perhaps it is a lesson to be learned for self