Christmas Calls You to Inconvenience: Day 3, The Cost of Saying Yes

Christmas Calls You to InconvenienceDay 3:The Cost of Saying YesDevotionalMary’s yes to God wasn’t just a simple agreement - it was a costly surrender. She was saying yes to potential shame, broken relationships, and a future filled with uncertainty. She was choosing God’s purpose over her personal comfort, His plan over her own dreams. We often want God’s blessings without the inconvenience, His purpose without the cost. We desire transformation but resist the disruption that comes with it. Mary’s story reminds us that following God’s calling often means letting go of the life we thought we wanted to receive the life He has designed for us. Mary didn’t get the quiet, predictable life she might have chosen. Instead, she received a life marked by both incredible joy and deep sorrow. She would watch her son be misunderstood, rejected, and ultimately crucified. Yet through her willingness to let God “ruin” her comfortable plans, salvation came to the world. The Gospel promises new life, but not necessarily an easier life. God transforms us not by making everything comfortable, but by rearranging everything according to His perfect will. When we surrender our plans to Him, we discover that His disruption leads to our greatest blessing. Saying yes to God always costs us something, but it gives us everything that truly matters.Bible VerseAnd calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” - Mark 8:34Reflection QuestionWhat part of your life are you hesitant to surrender to God because you’re afraid of what it might cost you?Quote “You want God’s mission without disruption. You want purpose without inconvenience. You want obedience without cost.”PrayerLord, give me the courage to count the cost and still choose You. Help me to see that what feels like loss in surrendering to You is actually gain. Strengthen me to take up my cross daily and follow You, trusting that Your plans are always worth the sacrifice. Amen.