A few weeks ago we had a guest speaker at church. He spoke out of Joshua 3:5
“Then Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you. “
Now, this is nothing I haven’t heard before. Growing up in church, I know that you’re supposed to consecrate yourself to the Lord. I know you’re supposed to “take up your cross” daily, and “offer your body as a living sacrifice.” I know all this, and yet it was one of those sermons that just made it seem like I was really understanding it for the first time, or at least the first time in a long time.
I’m not going to try to preach to you the same wonderful sermon I heard. Pastor Bruce did an amazing job of that already. You can listen to the full sermon here.
After listening to that sermon I knew that I haven’t been giving myself to the Lord everyday. But I wanted to. So I started being intentional about it. But I wanted to do something realistic and also meaningful. For example, in the past I’ve made it a goal to read my Bible every single day for a year. So for many months I read everyday out of obligation. I knew that some of those days I did not retain one word of what I was reading. And then eventually, I had a super busy day and I forgot to read! So then I started to read less and less because “what’s the point if I’m not going to retain it anyway? I’ve already failed my goal.”
So I decided I can manage 5 minutes a day. I can. I take 5 minutes and intentionally pray. And I take that time to consecrate my day to God. Some days I just sit at the kitchen table and spend those five minutes to completely focused on God and my prayer to him. Other days, I do it while I’m making my breakfast or fixing my bed. And you know what? Some days I forget. And that’s okay!
I have found a few things that work best for me and I encourage you to try different things and find what is best for you. For me, praying out loud is soooooo helpful. It keeps my mind from wandering and helps me realize what’s actually on my heart. Also, it is usually best for me to do it either while I am still in bed I the morning and haven’t become distracted by other things, or during breakfast when I just sit alone and have a cup of coffee with God.
I can honestly say, the days that I intentionally consecrate myself and my day to God are SO much better than the days I don’t. If I find myself struggling with a particular choice during the day, it is so much easier to make the right choice after I’ve dedicated myself to Him. And the days that I mess up the worst are usually the days I didn’t spend one on one time with Him. Not always, but usually.
Do you consecrate yourself daily? If love to hear what works for you. If you don’t, then I hope you try it. Trust me, it’s a life changer.
