As I listened to an Advent episode of the “She Reads Truth” podcast in December, one of the gals brought up an interesting thought. What would it have been like to change those habitual sacrifice-related routines? 

Today, we have the privilege of living under Jesus’ new covenant. We are no longer tied to the stipulations of the old covenant, which required animal sacrifices to atone for sins and create access to God. When Jesus died for our sins, He was the ultimate and final sacrifice required. When He died (and then rose back to life), the barrier between God and humans was removed. We can talk to Him anytime and anywhere, and we don’t need a religious official’s help in order to do that. We can also live in grace and forgiveness. We don’t need to make animal sacrifices just to clean the slate for another day, week or year. This is the only way of life believers in 2025 know! We never had to make animal sacrifices. 

But what about those people who lived during the specific time in history when the new covenant replaced the old covenant way of life? There were some believers who’d spent decades of their lives carefully adhering to the rules and requirements of making sacrifices … and then, at some point, found out they could stop doing that altogether. Jesus had come, died and risen again to introduce a new covenant way of life. Can you imagine spending years and years making animal sacrifices, and then all of a sudden, being told that you don’t need to do that anymore? What a monumental change of lifestyle! What trust and faith that must have required for the people whose lifespans uniquely covered the final years of the old covenant and the first years of the new. 

It’s hard to even think of a modern day comparison… But here’s an attempt. Let’s say you’re in a habit of working out every day for an hour. You’ve consumed so much information about how vital it is for your health to be physically active, and you know it’s key to staying healthy. It’s been a part of your routine for decades, and it helps you feel good about yourself and your body. But then, what if one day, a huge and definitive report is released that says you actually don’t need to exercise at all. There’s science behind it, there are experts backing it, and it’s such a comprehensive report that there doesn’t appear to be any wiggle room for people doubting or questioning it. And, in fact, the report argues that it’s actually better for you not to exercise anymore. 

What a huge lifestyle change that would be for you! To go from doing one thing so carefully and faithfully for years, and then all of a sudden to stop altogether? You’d have extra time each day you didn’t have before, and you’d have a whole new mindset to learn and embrace. And ya know what? You would be demonstrating tremendous trust and faith in the experts making those bold new claims. 

The thought raised on the podcast is such an interesting one to think about. What would it have been like to accept and then implement such a drastic change? Old Testament people couldn’t relate, and we can’t either. This was a unique circumstance experienced only by the believers whose lives coincided with Jesus’ life and ministry on earth. What a time to be alive. Exciting? Sure! But also scary? Definitely.

As we find ourselves at the start of 2025, this got me thinking… Maybe it’s time for a huge change in your life or mine. Could God be calling you to turn a complete 180 on something you’ve been accustomed to for years and years? Maybe it’s something that’s not necessarily bad. Remember, making animal sacrifices wasn’t a bad thing for believers to do before Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. It was a good thing and a requirement from God! But there came a time when the people were called to change in a monumental way, and, of course, the change was for their own good. It surely improved their lives, as it removed hindrances and obstacles blocking them, in a sense, from God’s presence. By stepping into this unfamiliar, brand new way of life, though, the people experienced God’s grace and His presence more intimately and personally than ever before. 

Is there a habit or routine that’s been important and beneficial to you that it might be time to let go of or change? Could God be challenging you to trust Him in a way that feels absolutely crazy? Are you willing to take a step of faith and let Him prove Himself abundantly faithful in ways that might be beyond your wildest expectations? If you’ve been busy with holiday celebrations over the past several weeks, perhaps this coming weekend will be your first chance in a while to slow down and take a breath. I encourage you to set aside a little time to quiet yourself and seek God this weekend. Ask Him if there are any rhythms He’s wanting you to change up in 2025. The answer might be no! But it might be yes. How will you know if you don’t ask? 

I just can’t stop thinking about the courage and faith it took for those people to stop making the sacrifices they’d been instructed and trained to make for their entire lives. But what an incredible new way of life was waiting for them on the other side of that courageous step of faith! Wow. I wonder if God has something similar in mind for you?

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. -Isaiah 43:19