Is everything going wrong today? The house is a mess? The children are behaving badly! You want to give in your notice! But you can’t do that! You feel upset and angry. That’s giving into the flesh. So, what do you do?
The Bible always gives the answer, although it is often not the one we want to hear!
When we feel miserable or upset, God wants us to make a sacrifice! Yes, that means to do something we don’t like. Something that denies the flesh.
You may feel down in the dumps. Forget your feelings. Make a sacrifice of JOY! It is a sacrifice isn’t it? Especially when you don’t feel like it, but Psalm 27:6 tells us to make “SACRIFICES OF JOY.” And how do you make the sacrifice? It goes on to say: “I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.” You’ve got to start singing.
There are more sacrifices yet! When you are full of self-pity, cast it out in the name of Jesus and make a sacrifice of PRAISE. Jeremiah 17:20 and 31:11 talk about it and then the New Testament takes it up in Hebrews 13;15: “Let us offer the SACRIFICE of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
You’ve got to do something You’ve got to open your lips and praise instead of complaining!
If that’s not enough, God’s tells us to make the “SACRIFICES of thanksgiving” (Psalm 107:22 and 116:17). Do you notice the plural? It’s not only one sacrifice of thanksgiving, but sacrifices! You’ve got to keep on sacrificing your feelings and keep on thanking and praising the Lord.
Will you do it? know you don’t feel like it. It is a sacrifice. But it leads you to victory and triumph.
Listen to Jonah’s testimony. He offered the “sacrifice of thanksgiving” when he was down in the belly of the whale where the depths closed over him, the see wrapped itself around his head, and he sank to the very roots of the mountains! He was imprisoned in the earth! I am sure your problem isn’t as bad as Jonah’s! But he made the sacrifice, and God gave him deliverance (Jonah 2: 1-19).
The Bible also talks about the “SACRIFICES of righteousness” (Psalm 4:5 and 51:19 and the “SACRIFICES of a broken spirit and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).
One more thing. God makes it clear that these sacrifices are not only for sometimes. We are to make them CONTINUALLY. The Old Testament commanded the people of Israel to make “continual “or “daily” sacrifices. The word in the Hebrew is “yom” and means from “sunrise to sunset.”
It doesn’t change in the New Testament. Hebrews 13:15 states: “Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God CONTINUALLY.” No option. We can’t get off the hook. This is the plan. In fact, it’s the remedy. It’s the answer. God’s ways always work.
When you open your lips and start praising, you’ll win the victory. Your attitude will change. The atmosphere in your home will change, and even the children will change their behavior.
I know you’ll do it.
Love from Nancy Campbell