Saying yes to God is usually the hardest yes we will ever say. We are giving up our own dreams and plans for His. I know that, at least for myself, I say out loud that I would say yes to God and go wherever He calls me, yet I have that awful faith crimpling thing called fear. I have that small voice in my head called doubt. We all struggle with wanting to say yes to God but when God asks us to do something we either flat out say no or we just ignore Him hoping He will go away.
The crazy thing is, is that if you do take that step out in faith and say yes. If you and I trust God enough to say yes to everything He brings our way, our lives will be so much more full. We will still go through a lot of junk but God will get us through because we trusted Him enough to say yes, so we know that we can trust Him enough to get us through the junk that life throws our way.
I just finished reading a ten week story that one of my mom’s friends has been writing about her and her husband’s adoption stories. (Yes, multiple adoptions!) And honestly it has gotten me thinking, how much could the church really change the world IF we say yes to God. If we truly surrender our lives to Him. If we get out of our comfort zones and whole heartily pursue the greater things that God has for us to do.
Our world would change. Our country would change. Our lives would change. Our families would change. Our friends would change.
The key though is saying yes and surrendering. It’s getting to that place where we WANT to say yes to God. It’s praying and seeking God’s Will for our lives. It’s actually pursuing a relationship with Him and intentionally – even as scary as it may seem – asking God to show you what you need to say yes to.
I am not trying to preach at anyone. I am more preaching at myself right now. All my life I have dealt with fears of feeling like I will not measure up to people’s standards. I fear that I am not a good enough daughter, sister, friend. I fear that if I’m not good enough for my family then how will I ever be good enough to be someone’s wife. I fear that if I will never be good enough for God to use.
But then I remember what not only God has told me through scripture but also what my mom continues to have remind me. I am enough. I am loved. I am forgiven. I am here for a purpose and God will show me that in due time.We all are sinners. We all make mistakes. We all screw up. We all fall. But God is reaching out and picking us back up again. He continually extends grace to us when we do mess up. He continually loves us and cares for us.
Fear is the faith crippler. Fear is what keeps most of us from saying yes to God. Fear keeps us from loving the fatherless. Fear keeps us from going overseas and preaching the gospel to people who have never heard it before. Fear is what Satan is using to keep the church of God from doing her purpose. Fear is keeping you and I from living out our God given dreams.
My mom’s friend and her husband said yes to God 4 times and went overseas to various countries to adopt. They said yes to God and opened a beef jerky shop that raises money for orphan care around the world. They said yes and now their lives are full and completely God’s. They are living their lives for God’s Will. They are beings lights in this dark world. They are a military family that said yes to God and now have amazing opportunities to share about God. They are living the life that you and I ought to live.
Not all of us are called to be adoptive parents. Not all of us are called to be missionaries in the Congo. Not all of us are called to be foster parents. BUT we all are called to be missionaries in our own backyard. We are called to help orphans and widows. We are called to surrender our lives daily for Christ. We are called to take up our crosses daily. We are called to be lights in this dark, evil world we live in. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
I don’t know about you but I am tired of living life for myself. I am tired of allowing fear to keep it’s hold on me, keeping me from the life that God has called me to live. We are doing a series this month in youth group called ‘Kill the Spider – Getting Rid of What’s Really Holding You Back’ we need to kill the spider (fear) that we allow to live in us. We need to kill it and get rid of it.
The church has lost sight of this. Everything in our world is about me, myself, and I. Why don’t we be the people who stand against that and become the people that it’s about you, him, and her. It’s about the hurting, the broken, the fatherless. It’s about the ones who’s souls are heading for Hell. It’s about the ones who are living in the dark. We have the light, we have the promise of heaven so what is holding us back from sharing this with others? I say we take a stand against fear, against saying no and start saying yes to God.
Today is the day that everything around us changes. Today is the day that we kill the spider. Today is the day that we start living the lives that God has planned for us since the beginning of time.
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Check out the story that I was talking about here. You do NOT want to miss out reading it. It’s beautiful and amazing. The first part is their love story and it will have you swooning.
