JUNE 19, 2025

   “As an act of goodwill you must sacrifice all the futures you might have for the one that he designs for you.” 

― Dexter Palmer, The Dream of Perpetual Motion

PSALM 28-30

 11You turned my wailing into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.(30:11-12)

ACTS 21:1-14

10After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”

12When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

JOURNAL 

Love does not exist without sacrifice. That’s the inescapable truth. You will either sacrifice your own selfishness for the good of others, or you will cling to your desires and, as a result, someone else will bear the cost of what you withhold. Real love requires a death to self. As Dexter Palmer wrote, “As an act of goodwill you must sacrifice all the futures you might have for the one that He designs for you.” And that’s exactly what Paul did.

In Acts 21, when the prophet Agabus warned that Paul would be bound and handed over in Jerusalem, the people begged him not to go. But Paul’s response cut through their fear: “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13). That is love made visible through sacrifice. He saw the cost clearly—and still chose to walk into it. Why? Because he had already surrendered the life he might have had in exchange for the one Christ had called him to live.

And that kind of surrender brings a deep, settled joy. Not because it’s painless, but because it’s purposeful. As James reminds us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). Trials aren’t joyful in themselves—but they are the result of walking in faith and choosing the path of Christ over comfort. That’s the joy of someone who knows why they’re suffering and for whom they’re suffering.

We can’t have everything. That’s just reality. You can’t go north and south at the same time. You can’t live for truth and lies, or righteousness and sin. Every yes to God is a no to something else. Every surrender is a sacrifice. Jesus made this plain when He said, “Be either hot or cold”—don’t try to do both (Revelation 3:15-16). Half-commitment is no commitment at all.

This is why I must choose with clarity. Sacrifice without thought is reckless; but sacrifice rooted in love and truth—that is the foundation of a life well-lived. When I pause, reflect, and choose God's design over my own ambition, I am choosing power, love, and sound judgment (2 Timothy 1:7). And even if that path leads through sorrow or suffering, “You turned my wailing into dancing… clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent” (Psalm 30:11–12).

God’s will is not always safe—but it is always good. And when I walk in it, I can lay down every other possible future, knowing the one He’s written is enough.

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^a whenever you face trials of many kinds,

JAMES 1:2