It Will Cost You

Thursday - November 18th

Scripture to Read Today: 2 Samuel 24:1-25

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The king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing."

2 Samuel 24:24

King David knew what it meant to give sacrificially. So, when he was repenting from a terrible sin, he decided to make a burnt offering to God. The owner of the place where the sacrifice would be made offered to give David the animals that the king would need for the offering, free of charge.

But David refused the kind offer. "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing" (2 Samuel 24:24). David knew that a sacrifice to God had to cost him something. A sacrifice is not a sacrifice if it costs the giver nothing.

As we live for Christ, there are moments God calls us to give sacrificially from our time, talents, and treasures. When we give to the point that it costs us something, we demonstrate the depth of our commitment. We demonstrate it most of all to ourselves. Because as we make the sacrifice, we acknowledge that we trust God to provide after our costly giving to Him.

Making a sacrifice for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom goes hand-in-hand with trusting Christ to meet all of our needs. Obeying, trusting, sacrificing are core to our willingness to live and love like Jesus. When we have placed our lives today and our eternal destiny forever in the Lord's hands, a willingness to sacrifice anything and everything for Him makes perfect sense. Yet, at the same time, it requires a solid, vibrant faith. David had such faith. God calls us to that kind of faith as well!

When was the last time you made a sacrifice for Christ and His Kingdom? Have you avoided any and all costs regarding your faith?

As you live for the Lord, it will cost you at some point in time. Are you ready and willing to sacrifice anything for Christ?