Paul writes, ‘Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice…pleasing to God.’ During a Jewish sacrifice, an animal would be killed and then its body placed on the altar. If a live animal had been used, it would probably have tried to escape and jump off the altar. But Paul says that we should be a ‘living sacrifice’. We have to make the choice to get on the altar and stay there. He’s encouraging us to surrender to God day by day, moment by moment. And that surrender involves all areas of our lives. Everything we think, say, and do. For example, suppose somebody does something that makes us angry. The situation is complicated, so we’re not even sure of the right way to respond. Without even trying, our mind will probably fill with all kinds of bad thoughts, and we’ll be more likely to react unhelpfully, perhaps with avoidance, gossiping, or retaliation. We might not know what to do in that situation, but God knows. If we surrender to Him, He will show us how to respond with grace. And when we surrender, we need to hand over our thoughts and feelings to God. The trouble is, when we’re hurt, those thoughts will keep coming back again. And that means we’ll have to surrender all over again. As we learn to surrender to God in each given situation, we no longer have to be controlled by the thoughts and emotions that rise up. In the Message version it says: ‘Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar’ (Psalm 5:3). And that’s exactly what we need to do. We need to offer every part of our lives, every day, to God – for Him to use for His glory.

What Now?

Each morning during the week ahead, spend some time offering up every part of your life to God.