Today we read about a dark season in David's life. The darkness was of his own doing, but sometimes we find ourselves in a similar place simply without explanation.
David wanted to make things right with God, so he followed the Lord’s lead to build an altar at the threshing floor of Araunah. It was a busy time as he was in the middle of threshing wheat when David asked to buy the land. The man wanted to give it freely to the king, but David replied with this:
“I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing.”
You see, a sacrifice is not a sacrifice if it costs us nothing.
God speaks about sacrifices in Psalm 50 proclaiming that he has no need of our sheep or bulls; He tells us to simply, “make thankfulness our sacrifice to God” and then He promises to rescue us and reveal His glory when we are in trouble.
The word for sacrifice comes from a root word that means, “to slaughter for sacrifice”.
There are times of uncertainty where offering up thanksgiving to God requires the slaughtering of my flesh.
I sometimes feel like a little girl inside who stomps her foot and says, “I don’t WANT to give praise, I don’t have TIME to give thanksgiving. If You would just fix these things, then I wouldn’t be spending my time and energy trying to figure them out!” 😬😳
Yep, I’ve had that convo w God and yet He still loves me 💕 He knows the competing concerns in my life, in fact He’s allowing them for whatever reason, and is simply waiting for me to turn to Him.
It’s just hard sometimes to slaughter my flesh in order to give God the best that He’s given me in praise and thanksgiving.
I’ve had Brandon Lakes’s song, “Gratitude” on repeat all week. It is well worth a listen. At one point the lyrics exhort is with this:
So come on my soul, oh, don't you get shy on me
Lift up your song, 'cause you've got a lion
Inside of those lungs
Get up and praise the Lord
Sometimes thanksgiving is costly but it is there that God promises to rescue us and reveal His glory. Join me today as I search for things that will make today a thankful Thursday.
July 15th One Year Bible Readings 💡 1 CHRONICLES 19:1-21:30 💡 ROMANS 2:25-3:8 💡 PSALM 11:1-7 💡 PROVERBS 19:10-12 Here is a link to read or listen to the One Year Bible online. I love to listen to it because it gives historical background and contextual insights!💯 oneyearbibleonline.com/daily-oyb/
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