The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and contrite heart. And you are the living sacrifices offered to God. You do not need to look around for a bull or goat to flay. Your spirit is here to be flayed.
But sin is like concrete in your soul that would keep you proud and stiff. And now is the time to purge the concrete from within, to spit out that mud before it hardens, so your spirit can be broken before the Lord. He is the Master craftsman who will renew your spirit, operating on your heart in all the right ways.
But before he heals and mends, he must cut. And that cutting involves you telling him all your sins, agreeing with him about your sour attitude, your raised voice, your hot temper, and your bitter resentment. He lances the wound. And your job is to push on it so that all the infection is thoroughly drained.
Pride would have your wound fester so that you’d be a contaminated lamb, unworthy of sacrifice to God. Pride would keep you diseased and roaming in the wilderness rather than placed on the temple altar. Pride puffs up, swells up, and whispers to you that you should not lose anything. It makes you afraid of the knife because after the cut, you know you’ll be emptied of something.
But the divine knife is removing the infection. And it is sharp enough to cut in just the right places. Christ is that knife, the Word that divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow. If you see that blade without faith, you will fear he tries to kill you and it will all seem like too much. But better things are determined concerning you. So look upon that two-edged sword in faith. Welcome it. And confess it all, every last sin, until it is all out.