Living Sacrifice

There is so much going on in this season of life right now! On some days, I feel really pumped up and excited about the changes that God is working in me and in my life and in the people around me. And sometimes I feel rather discouraged with the lack of progress, the lack of change, the lack of results. In our society and in this day in age, it feels like we have been groomed to expect changes to happen NOW - instant gratification is desired and even expected. If we have to wait 5 minutes, that's 5 minutes too long. Waiting for anything is difficult. Extremely difficult. And this is when I am thankful and grateful for the people in my life who can sit me down, remind me of the virtues of patience and of the bigger picture. It's not about me, or my will \ desires \ plans for my life.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. [Romans 12: 1-2]

I remember that someone once said that the problem with being a living sacrifice is that the sacrifice (myself) tends to crawl off the altar from time to time. It can be a daily struggle to pull myself back on the altar and to again, offer myself as a living sacrifice - and that this is my spiritual act of worship. I want God's will to be done. I pray for it and desire earnestly for it. But when it becomes day in and day out, same ol' same ol', I get discouraged and I want to crawl off this altar and start taking situations into my own hands thinking I can surely produce more results than God can.

I like the fact that this passage reminds me that I should not be conformed to the pattern of this world - society has taught me that instant results are good and should be expected but sometimes that just isn't the will of God. Sometimes He desires us to wait and be patient for the revealing of His good, pleasing and perfect will. I like even more that the passage tells me to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. I have to change the way I think in order to escape from the conformities of society. Do my thoughts follow God's way of thinking or am I resorting back to the way that society or the world thinks? Am I believing the promises of God or the lies that the world tells me?

Once my thinking is back in line with God's thinking and I have separated myself from the ways of the world and I have placed myself back on the altar, offering myself as a living sacrifice, I can start to see clearly again - the will of God. And the awesomeness of this clarity is that it brings peace and joy and renewed motivation to move forward with patience. I can look forward to the days ahead, knowing that God's will is good and perfect and that it is absolutely worth waiting for.

So back onto the altar I go. And along with being the a living sacrifice, i place my dreams, and my desires at the foot of the cross, trusting again in God's good, and perfect will for my life.