faith unfaded

There are two words we toss around in the Christian walk that sound similar but live in completely different places: consecration and sanctification.

Most of us grew up hearing both, but somewhere along the way they blurred together like two highlighters bleeding on a page. Same color, different purpose.

Consecration is what we do.
Sanctification is what God does.

Consecration is a moment.
Sanctification is a movement.

One is me placing my life on the altar.
The other is God shaping what I placed there.

Consecration is when you say, “Lord, I’m Yours.”
Sanctification is how He answers, “Then let Me make you like Me.”

Consecration is the decision — the yes, the surrender, the offering.
Sanctification is the process — the refining, steady, patient work of the Holy Spirit changing the desires, habits, thoughts, and reflexes of your heart.

One happens in an instant.
The other happens over time.

Consecration is the doorway.
Sanctification is the hallway.

You step into one.
You walk through the other.

And the most beautiful part?
God never asks us to sanctify ourselves. He only asks us to be willing. To consecrate — to set ourselves apart — so He can begin the deeper work we could never do alone.

I set apart one consecrated hour each day. It isn’t rigid or scheduled, but it is sixty minutes — consecutive or broken into segments — where I study my Bible, walk and fellowship with the Lord, turn off outside noise, and engage in reverent prayer.

In turn, He sanctifies me — shaping even my thoughts to look more and more like His. This is, without question, the best version of me yet.