A Life of Sacrifice

I’ve been thinking lately about how the Lord call us to sacrifice. And frankly, I don’t like the sound of that.

Whenever I think of sacrifice, I think of burning out, being at my wits end, giving even when I have nothing left to give. Usually, by this point, I’m irritable, moody, exhausted, and overstimulated by what’s going on around me and what feels like my endless to do list.

But, then I remember — the Lord calls us to sacrifice. Sacrifice doesn’t equate to burning out, like I previously described.

Where the Lord calls, He provides. When God is calling me to sacrifice, He is going to provide the strength I need to give of myself when I have nothing left to give.

I realized that too often I say yes to things the Lord hasn’t called me to. This is what leads to burn out. Saying yes, when in fact, I’m called to say no.

In Mt. 11:28-30, Jesus said:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

My yoke is easy and my burden is light when I’m saying yes to what God is calling me to.

This includes my small yeses throughout my day (eg. Staying hydrated, praying, caring for my sweet toddler, resting, etc). When I find myself saying yes to things the Lord isn’t calling me to that’s the perfect recipe to burnout. For me, this normally looks like checking my work email too much, doing research, cleaning when the Lord is calling me to pray, etc.

As a wife and mom, my first yes is to God and my main ministry: my family. God calls us to sacrifice, but he doesn’t call us to burn out. Being intentional about what I say yes to will lead to living a life where my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

What is the Lord calling you to say yes to?

What is He calling you to say no to?

Have you been saying yes to things the Lord is in fact, saying no to?