when obedience means sacrifice, part II

I ended Part I with a simple question that I’ll paraphrase here: What happens when obeying God is a sacrifice to us? 

There was a moment in my life a few years ago, when I asked God to take away anything that was hindering my relationship with Him. Since He’s full of grace and mercy, He didn’t literally take things from me, He kindly asked me to give up things for Him.

At first it was easy: 

1. Leave my career.

I was frustrated with work and prayed for 2 years for purpose, and I had nice nest egg in the bank to support myself without a full-time income.

Check.

2. End my relationship.

We were both unhappy, and though heartbreak followed, we knew it was for the best.

Check.

3. Get off social media (or eliminate distractions).

I needed to purge some things from college from my profile, so I did this without putting up a fight.

Check.

Then it became hard:

4. Stay in Brooklyn when the heartbreak didn’t go away quickly.

I had to see the person I ended the relationship quite often… and even serve alongside him. I wanted to move home, but every time I asked, God said, “no.” But I obeyed and stayed…

Check.

5. Leave Brooklyn when I finally felt healing and a sense of home there to move to a city I said I’d NEVER move to…

I was excited about the transition, but afraid to actually leave. I only had one family member in Atlanta, and as a single lady at the time, I always said, “it’s not the single lady’s city. I’ll never be found by my husband there.” God had a different plan.

Check.

6. Give away all of my furniture and “non-sentimental” possessions.

I moved out of my friend’s basement and into my own place last year before I was married. I had furniture and possessions stored at my sister’s house in a different city, but God told me only to gather the items that meant something to my heart. I was to give everything else away. Meanwhile, I had an empty apartment in Atlanta… But I obeyed and miraculously, my house began to become a home through awesome deals and the kindness of some big-hearted benefactors 🙂

Check.

7. Not go back to Corporate America when my nest egg ran out.

This was/is extremely hard because the life of an artist is a true struggle/hustle. I was used to a certain lifestyle that my family simply can’t afford right now. Also, I have to truly trust God for every dime and opportunity. However, we’ve never been homeless, hungry, or without a tank of gas. Simply put, we always have enough.

Check.

I went through this list to share with you some of the many sacrifices I’ve had to make in the midst of obeying God. The process of letting go of things, people and places was hard, but in each situation, God was either protecting me from greater hurt or hardship, or refining me. With each step of obedience, He was also asking me to increase my faith in Him.

In the process, I’ve also learned some things we shouldn’t do when walking this path of sacrificial obedience.

Things you can’t do when sacrificially obeying God: 

1. Blame God

I was angry with God for at least my first year living in Atlanta. I desperately wanted to move back to New York because I just didn’t feel like Atlanta was home for me. In doing so I was missing out on all the great ways He was moving in my life. I was missing opportunities to be thankful for providing me with a car, revealing me to my future husband, enabling me to have my first solo show from my travels to Haiti. I was so inward focused that my unthankful heart was moving me into a place of discontent and depression.

2. Dwell on Negative Circumstances

Life happens. Jesus says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NLT). If you’re already in a place where you’re blaming God for misfortune, when real hardship comes, you’ll sink deeper into depression. This is exactly what happened to me. I thought I was just tired all the time from hustling so hard, but my fatigue and endless desire to “just sleep” was in direct response to me dwelling on the bad rather than the goodness of God.

3. Pity Yourself

There’s no quitting in youth ministry. The kids notice when you’re physically absent and they also notice when you’re present but mentally absent. It’s hard enough breaking down their walls, and when I was pitying myself while being sad about not being “successful,” I was rebuilding their walls brick by brick. I wasn’t trusting God, so it was easy to look at myself as a failure when things I did in my strength didn’t work out. Ultimately, all He wanted/wants is this: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-29 NLT).

4. Compare Yourself to Others

This is the shortcut to giving up on obeying God. People present their best selves on social media (the most prevalent comparison tool out there). My life isn’t how I planned it, but I axed the plans I made while in the world to pick up the plan that God had for me. In comparing myself to others, I was comparing my former life in the world to my new life in Christ. There’s truly no comparison between the two. Once I realized that I’m a new creation and God is doing a new thing in me, it made it easier to “take His yoke upon me” and sacrificially obey Him when He asks me to do so.

In summary, God wants the absolute best for us. When obeying Him is a sacrifice we have to remember that whatever we have given up, God can restore:

3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. 4 Though you are at the ends of the earth, the LORD your God will go and find you and bring you back again. 5 He will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. He will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!“ 6 “The LORD your God will cleanse your heart and the hearts of all your descendants so that you will love him with all your heart and soul, and so you may live! 7The LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and persecutors. 8 Then you will again obey the LORD and keep all the commands I am giving you today. 9 The LORD your God will make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and your fields will produce abundant harvests, for the LORD will delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors. 10 The LORD your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and laws written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.”  – Deuteronomy 30:3-10 NLT