“You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You. Trust in the Lord forever, because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock!” (Isa. 26:3-4).

God requires different things from you depending on what season you’re in. Sometimes He requires small sacrifices, and sometimes He requires more than you ever thought you could give.

There will be times when God asks you to lay down the thing that is dearest to your heart. In your human weakness you go into “survival mode” and run the other direction in an attempt to avoid pain. Running doesn’t eliminate the necessity of the sacrifice, though; it merely prolongs the season of refining.

See, God is after your heart. If He asks you to give something up, despite what emotions may tell you, it is always for your good.

Unexplainable joy comes from laying down that which you once couldn’t imagine giving up. Perhaps you fear letting “it” go because of the possibility you won’t get it back. Whether there is a return, a restoration of another kind, or whether the sacrifice is simply an act of whole-hearted obedience, that lies in the Lord’s hands.

In the here and now, there is joy in knowing He loves you enough to break apart whatever stands in the way of you giving Him your all. It is the kindness of God that asks of you the unthinkable. He’ll do whatever it takes to bring you forth like gold.

Today, know that God is for you, and that He is always with you.