Let your YES be YES, LORD!
Some things stick like glue in a person’s mind! A number of years ago, at Ministers Gathering in Banff, a young lady was being commissioned to serve as a Mission Global worker in a RAN designation. During the preamble to the dedicatory prayer, the interviewer asked her a couple of times, “Are you ready for this assignment?” Both times her answer was identical, demonstrating both character and commitment. Her reply: “I don’t know if I am ready, I only know that I am willing.” I have not been able to get that answer out of my head. It seems that God works through the willing, whether or not they feel ready.
There is a two-word phrase essential in the vocabulary of every sincere disciple. Without this phrase, greatness will end up in mediocrity. Simple words to say, they require a life of sacrifice to fulfill. They are the words “Yes, Lord.”
We see two types of “Yes Lord” in the Bible.
There is an “Unqualified - Yes, Lord” with many Biblical examples:
Noah, building a boat over the span of a century, never having witnessed rainfall.
Abram left Ur, having no idea where the Lord was leading him.
Isaiah was so overwhelmed in the presence of God that his response was instantaneous.
Mary, who, against all convention, carried Jesus in her womb.
However, there is also a ”Reluctant - Yes, Lord” illustrated in Scripture:
Moses: obedience dragged out even to the point of invoking God’s displeasure.
Gideon: in his mind, too young, too insignificant, too frightened to do anything outstanding.
Jonah: sullen consent given while in a fish's digestive tract.
Jeremiah: would rather die than prophesy.
Jesus: pleading for the cup of suffering to pass but submissive to the will of His Father at great personal cost.
As disciples of Jesus, the way we arrive at “Yes, Lord” can be either clear or convoluted. However, it is vital that we arrive. Only a continual “Yes, Lord,” will unlock our Kingdom potential and bring us into our ‘God-appointed’ destiny.
I have experienced both types of “yes” in my life. At times, I have eagerly embraced the assignment, and at others, I have fought against it. But when the “Yes Lord” has finally been forthcoming, the subsequent experience has never disappointed. It’s been amazing!
God is not asking us to start with our destination settled. We walk “by faith, not by sight.” He is not offering us a relief map beforehand to mark the dangers and obstacles we will encounter. Soren Kierkegaard stated it this way. “We live life forward. We only understand it backward.” Neither is God demanding an advanced level of specialized training before our prompt obedience. That comes later. He is simply asking for our “Yes, Lord.”
God knows the plan. He knows the way. He knows the blessings in store for those who follow in faith. He knows the challenges to be faced, the many trials that will require great faith, and the inner, unexplainable joy that persists in spite of those trials. There are vistas that He wishes to open ahead of us. There’s an eternal purpose etched into each day we spend here on earth. There are victories available that cannot be known apart from unrestricted obedience to His call. There is the certainty of His gracious presence at all times. This is life lived in the grandest way, the God-intended way.
I have yet to hear of a disciple who said “Yes, Lord” and later regretted their response. Along with acquiescence to God comes meaning, purpose and fulfillment.
This life principle is well summed up in the words of the old hymn written in 1887 by John H. Sammis:
“When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way.
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way.
To be happy in Jesus, but to TRUST and OBEY.”
Al is an experienced pastor and counselor who works out of our ABNWT District Resource Centre in Edmonton as the Pastoral Care Coordinator. A pastor to the pastors, Al is a friend, mentor, and confidante to all.