Worship That Costs: Breaking Open the Box

We all have something we’ve poured ourselves into. A dream we’ve chased. A relationship we’ve held onto. A title we’ve protected. A past we’ve survived.

Piece by piece, we tuck those things away—some precious, some painful—and seal them inside a box of our own making. We tell ourselves we’re saving them for the right moment. But more often than not, we’re simply not ready to let them go.

And yet, real worship isn’t found in what we keep—it’s found in what we break. True surrender is costly. And it’s never convenient.

Just ask Mary.

She didn’t just bring a costly jar of perfume—she brought her whole heart with it.

And she didn’t just open it...She broke it.

Now Jesus was in Bethany, in the home of Simon, a man Jesus had healed of leprosy. And as he was reclining at the table, a woman came into the house with an alabaster flask filled with the highest quality of fragrant and expensive oil. She came to Jesus, and with a gesture of extreme devotion, she broke the flask and poured out the precious oil over his head. (Mark 14:3 TPT)

Did you catch that?

With a gesture of extreme devotion.

She didn’t just bring an extravagant offering—estimated to be worth about a year’s wages—she brought her extreme devotion. She broke what was most costly and poured it out. And sadly, that’s the kind of worship many struggle to understand or embrace.

Because that kind of surrender means letting go of what’s precious.

Maybe your box holds…

• Dreams you’ve nurtured quietly.

• Success you’ve fought for.

• Marriage you’ve prayed for.

• Purpose you’ve pursued.

• Identity you’ve tried to protect.

• Trauma you’ve carried like a badge.

We pour ourselves into these things—sometimes with tears, sometimes with pride—and then seal the box and clutch it tightly.

We protect it.

We guard it.

We decorate it.

But we refuse to break it.

Why?

Because breaking means surrender. It means we no longer get to control how it’s used, how it looks, or what spills out. It means the glory doesn’t come from the container—it comes from the fragrance that’s released when it shatters.

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. (Matthew 16:25 NLT)

We often talk about giving God our hearts—but we keep our box.

We give Him worship with our words, but withhold what we’ve built, pursued, or endured.

But you cannot offer worship while staying in control.

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. (Philippians 3:7 NLT)

If it’s too precious to surrender, maybe it’s become an idol.

I believe Mary understood that. She was willing to surrender it all at the feet of Jesus—even in front of those who scorned her for it.

But some were highly indignant when they saw this, and they complained to one another, saying, "What a total waste! It could have been sold for a great sum, and the money could have benefited the poor." So they scolded her harshly. (Mark 14:4–5 TPT)

They called it waste. But she saw it as worship.

She was willing to "waste" the oil on the One who had called her out of darkness.

The fountain of your pleasure is found in the sacrifice of my shattered heart before you. You will not despise my tenderness as I bow down humbly at your feet. (Psalm 51:17 TPT)

Worship that costs nothing is just performance. But worship that costs—worship that breaks—that’s the kind that moves the heart of Heaven.

What Will You Do With Your Box?

This is not the time to hold back. Not when the King is in the room!

If Mary had kept her jar sealed, the room would’ve stayed silent.

No fragrance. No offering. No history rewritten.

What about you?

Will you keep guarding what God is asking you to give? Will you keep polishing the box while withholding its contents?

You can’t pour out and preserve at the same time. You can’t walk in destiny while clinging to your own desires, pain, or control.

Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. (Romans 12:1 TPT)

Break it open!

Not halfway. Not cautiously. Completely.

Offer every part of yourself as a genuine expression of worship.

Let it spill. Let it cost you.

Let it mark the room with the scent of your surrender.

Because that’s where real worship lives...Not in the safety of what you’ve built, but in the breaking of what you’ve refused to give.

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