There’s a question many believers think about but rarely say out loud: What happens when I actually sacrifice for God? Is it worth it?
It’s an honest question. And it’s one God doesn’t shy away from answering.

We’ve spent this week talking about what true sacrifice looks like: offering God what costs us something, surrendering our time and attention, and living sacrificially as a daily lifestyle. But if we’re honest, there’s a part of us that wonders: If I give God everything, what do I get in return? Although I don’t do it for the returns, but if I surrender my all to Him, what then do I do with myself?

And in response to this, there’s a fundamental truth found throughout Scripture: God sees, honours, and responds to genuine sacrifice. He is not a taskmaster demanding endless giving without return. He’s a loving Father who rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6
New King James Version
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

So before we go any further today, understand that this is the nature of your God. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Now, let’s look at the example of a man who laid down his all on the altar of sacrifice. This man is Abraham, “the father of faith.”
Abraham had waited decades for the son God promised him. Isaac wasn’t just Abraham’s child; he was the fulfilment of God’s covenant, the baby born to a hundred-year-old man and his ninety-year-old wife. Isaac represented everything Abraham had hoped for, believed for, and built his life around.

And then God asked Abraham to sacrifice him.
Genesis 22:1-2
New King James Version
1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’

2 Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.’

God wasn’t asking for something Abraham could easily replace. He was asking for what Abraham loved most. He was asking for the promise itself.

And when they arrived, Abraham built an altar, arranged the wood, bound his son, laid him on the altar, and raised the knife.
Genesis 22:10-12 tells us what happened next:
New King James Version
10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ So he said, ‘Here I am.’

12 And He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’

At the critical moment, God provided a ram caught in the thicket, and Abraham offered the ram instead of his son.
But here’s what’s important: God didn’t need Isaac’s death; He wanted to discern where Abraham’s heart lies. In the promise God had given Him or in the God who gave him this promise.

Genesis 22:16-18:
New King James Version
16 and said: ‘By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—

17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.’

Here’s the pattern we see throughout Scripture: when you surrender what you treasure most, God proves Himself faithful in ways beyond human imagination.

This doesn’t mean God always gives back exactly what you laid down. It doesn’t mean sacrifice automatically leads to material prosperity or a life free from hardship. But it does mean that God always provides, protects, and fulfils His purposes in the lives of those who trust Him completely.

Look at what Jesus told His disciples:
Mark 10:28-30
New King James Version
28 Then Peter began to say to Him, ‘See, we have left all and followed You.

29 So Jesus answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s,

30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.’

Peter asked the question we all ask: “What do we get for leaving everything to follow You?”
And Jesus didn’t rebuke him for asking. He answered directly: “There is no one who has left anything for My sake and the gospel’s who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time…and in the age to come, eternal life.”
In this life, when you sacrifice for God, you receive spiritual family, provision, purpose, joy, and peace that surpasses understanding.

The Apostle Paul experienced this reality firsthand. He gave up his status, his credentials, his comfort, and his reputation to follow Christ. And in Philippians 4:19, he wrote with absolute confidence:
New King James Version
19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Paul wasn’t speaking theoretically. He had lived it. He had sacrificed everything, and God had proven faithful. Not always in the way Paul expected, not always in comfort, but always in sufficiency. God supplied every need, not according to Paul’s limited resources, but according to God’s unlimited riches in glory.

This is the promise for every believer who lives sacrificially: when you sacrifice in obedience, you position yourself to experience God’s supernatural provision.
His supply isn’t based on your bank account, your connections, or your earthly resources.

And sacrifice is never the end of the story. It’s the beginning of God’s faithfulness being displayed in your life.
What you release, God uses for His glory and your good.

But for Him to do this, you need to sacrifice one more thing: Your faith. You need to believe and trust that God really has an amazing plan for you, even though the process you’re seeing now doesn’t look like it.

There’s a part of Abraham’s story in Hebrews we tend to miss:

Hebrews 11:17, 19
New King James Version
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son

19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Abraham acted from a place of faith and trust in God! He believed so strongly that if God wants to take this child, he can give me another one or raise this one from the dead. Such faith! Such a sacrificial life. And he is such an example to follow.

Do you trust God enough to sacrifice what you hold most dear? Do you believe He is faithful to those who surrender everything to Him? Can you let go of control and believe that His plans are better than yours?

What are you holding onto that God is asking you to release? What do you love more than you love Him? What are you afraid to lay on the altar because you’re not sure you can trust Him with it?
Whatever it is, God is faithful. He sees your sacrifice. He honours your obedience. And He will respond with provision, protection, and purposes beyond what you can imagine.

The life fully surrendered to God is the most fulfilling life possible. Not because it’s easy. Not because it’s comfortable. But because it’s the life where you experience God’s faithfulness in ways that defy explanation.
So lay it down. Whatever He’s asking for, lay it down. Trust Him with it.

Prayer Point
Father, from today, I choose to believe that You are faithful. I lay down what I’ve been holding onto, my plans, my dreams, my fears, my treasures, and I surrender them to You.