Closer through Sacrifice

by Tara Jessup

As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that my priorities have shifted. 

When I was younger I wanted to look cool, travel, focus on making money, eat good food…and I still enjoy all of those things. However, the thing that I’m most mindful of now? My time.

When I’m cruising down I-4 I will gladly take the express lanes through Orlando and pay the extra dollars to save me the time and frustration of driving through the Orlando traffic. If anyone in our church can pull strings to get the rest of I-4 those lanes I would be forever grateful! 

Time is our most precious asset. We think about it every day.  How much time do we get with our kids? How much time do we have to rest? How much money are we making per hour? How long is dinner going to take? It’s all about time. 

Another thing I have realized about getting older is that I need to choose to make time for God. Some days that takes sacrifice.

Years ago I was at a conference and heard the story about how Pastor Tommy Barnett would get up every morning at 5 am and climb the hill behind his church and pray for half an hour.

He believed in it so much he wrote a book called “The Power of a Half Hour.” Over the years, pastors, Christian leaders, and businessmen asked him about his success and he always told them the same thing.

He woke up every day, climbed the hill, and spent time with God. He said leaders would often leave disheartened because they didn’t want to wake up early but you can’t have the benefits without the sacrifice. 

In Daniel 6:10-28, we have the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. We all know the part of the story where Daniel was saved from the Lion’s but what led up to that was Daniel getting in trouble for not praying to King Darius but praying to God three times a day.

I don’t think it’s a mistake that God used Daniel because He believed in him…but because he spent so much time in communion with God. Daniel trusted God to care for him because He knew him well!

If you want to make this year your best year spiritually and grow closer to God, it’s going to take sacrifice. When can you take time to be still and listen? When can you read your Bible and pray? Calm your mind before the day starts or go over your day when it ends? It doesn’t have to be the morning, it can be when you have time. Put your phone down! Spend time with God. 

Take the time this year to intentionally create a space for your time with Jesus. Make some tea. Build a routine. Give your time to God. Your year will be different because of it!

Prayer

God, thank you so much for giving us the sacrifice of your Son. Please help me to see the areas of my life that I need to surrender in order to be closer to you and the faith to make those hard choices again and again. In Jesus’ name, amen.