Hey, Freebies. TGIF, and happy Friday!
Quick question for you:
Have you ever had a problem, shared it with someone, and heard them say, "Just give it to Jesus," or they told you to lay it at his feet?
And you're like what?! Seriously, what in the metaphorical, I don't speak in parables, King James Version is that supposed to mean.
I feel you, sis, and if I could be 💯 I used to get irritated when people would tell me that after I spilled my heart and guts out. I came to them for help and real answers, and they talkin' bout' give it to Jesus.
That was then...
Now that I've matured in my faith walk, I understand what it means to lay your burdens down. However, I'm mastering the skill of actually doing that and giving it to Jesus, like legit letting it go for real, for real.
It's a lifelong process, which is fine. The word tells us in the book of Romans that as followers of Christ, we are to be living sacrifices.
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
Romans 12:1 NIV
Let me explain a bit:
Back in the bible day, people killed animals as a sacrifice before approaching God or when they sinned. The blood of the animal was needed to cover the sin and to make us worthy enough before stepping to God.
God (not Beyonce) is too holy to be around sin, and yeah, by nature, we are sinners. So we needed that animal's blood to cover us.
Not to get too deep, but that's how it was until Jesus hit the scene; his death was the ultimate sacrifice to God, which covers our sins. So, we no longer need to kill animals before stepping to God. And now that Jesus died/gave his life for us, we are covered. In return, we are to be a living sacrifice for him every day.
The only problem with this is that we're actually LIVING sacrifices which means it hurts and we feel the blows of our daily death. An animal sacrifice, you just kill it, and it doesn't feel pain because it's dead. But a living sacrifice, we do, and our deaths/killings are metaphorical for the most part.
We are dying or "killing" our sinful ways and desires. This hurts because we love the stuff that's not good for us. Whether your desired sin is to lie about something because you don't want to be embarrassed. That hurts. Maybe you're murdering your love for bad foods and being gluttonous.
This is me; that's my problem. I LOVE TO overindulge when I EAT and this sacrifice hurts.
Perhaps your sin is stealing office supplies or resources at work, but you don't see it as such. Let's say your printer isn't working at home or you don't have a printer, but you wait until you get to work to print out your cousin's birthday flyers or your side hustle brochures at work, on the clock. Sis, that's stealing, too 🙄.
Anywho, whatever the thing you're working on is, it still hurts. It hurts to sacrifice it because you don't want to give it up and demonstrate discipline in this area (living sacrifice). If you were dead, you wouldn't feel it.
So when you're giving something to Jesus or laying things at his feet, it's hard.
Because although you PRAYED about it and set it down doesn't mean you still won't think about it. Heck, we're human and not exempt from our emotions and thoughts.
And for this reason, I wanted to give some practical advice and support to you guys and gals who struggle with "laying it at his feet," or "giving it to Jesus".
1. Identify what's really bothering, concerning, or making you anxious.
2. Figure out why it's nabbing at you. Seriously, go deep find the root. Are you fearful that something won't be provided? Dig, sis, go deep. Find the real why!
3. After identifying the root, GIVE THAT ROOT TO JESUS. Be honest. Say, Lord, I'm scared I won't get into this program. I'm afraid that my business won't do well or that I don't have enough money. Whatever your issue is (fear, in these examples), give it to him.
That, my friend, is laying it at his feet. Legit identify the real issue and then tell him (with your mouth) that you give it to him.
Done and done.
Sounds easy, right? Well, it's a little more to the laying burdens down that we must do. Remember I said we are living sacrifices? So that means, naturally, we will want to go pick it back up or check to see if it's still where we left it or if Jesus took a lunch break and sat it down himself a sec.
Trust me, he hasn't. But, for our peace of mind, this is what you can do next.
4. Find out what God says about your root. Locate scriptures in the bible that aligns with what he says about your root and you.
5. Memorize them or print some out and hang them in eyeshot to help change the channel of your mind when you're tempted to pick them back up.
6. Let him know you need help giving it to him. And you can just rerelease it back to him. He knows you can't do it on your own.
Remember, the enemy will keep reminding you of that burden because that's his job to keep you worried and believing God doesn't care.
7. Repeat 1-6 as many times as you need to and ask the Holy Spirit to help you. God understands we're live sacrifices, and he delights in helping us
So, the next time someone tells you to give it to Jesus, you'll know exactly what that means and how. It's a process. Be kind to yourself, sis. I'm out.
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XoXo,
Coach Rahk
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