Yes, Lord – Part 1

Listen to this beautiful quote by Dr. Os Guinness.  “The three deepest human longings are for meaning, identity, and purpose, and the most dynamic source of each is the biblical notion of calling.” Watch this beloved, the only person I know who can give our lives MEANING, IDENTITY and PURPOSE is God. Since this is the case, what will happen when the one person who can give you and I definition in life comes calling? What will our response be? And as is always the case our answer is found in the Biblical text.

I am immediately confronted with an old time hymn “I’ll say YES, Lord, YES, to Your will and to Your way, I’ll say YES, Lord, YES. I will trust You and obey, when Your Spirit speaks to me, with my whole heart I’ll agree, and my answer will be YES, Lord, YES.” Lynn Keesecker (1983). And before we get into the depth of some Biblical text, let us find out what the word YES means? It simply means YES or MOST ASSUREDLY. The English “YES” comes from yea + si, meaning “SO BE IT!”

Scripture tells us, Abraham is the father of faith who stands in the solitary of his own greatness because of his response to God’s call. See what the Bible says, “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. ² I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ³ I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. ⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed…” Read Genesis 12:1-4 (NLT).

Abram’s response was a definite YES, even when he did not have the full picture of what God expected of him. Look at another Biblical text concerning Abrahams YES to God, even in the midst of a great demand required of him by God, “Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” ² “Take your son, your only son— yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” ³ The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac…” Read Genesis 22:1-3(NLT). It pays to say YES to God’s will and God’s way. 

As Christians, we get into trouble when we are not certain or are haphazard in our response to God’s call. And to buttress this point, let us look at one story in the Bible of a prophet whose initial response to God was NO. Watch, this prophet did not verbalise the word NO, but his actions spoke volumes. See what the Bible says, “The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.” Read Jonah 1:1-3 (NLT). So Jonah got up, but went in the opposite direction. Now before we cast stones at Jonah, let us think about our own response to God, Selah. How many times do we go in the opposite direction to God’s will? These are questions not to make us uncomfortable, but to help you and I understand the magnitude of the right response to God when He comes calling.

It is not enough to get up and go, but more importantly to go in the right direction – the direction and path which God has laid out, and not the one you created for yourself, hence the Bible says, “But the path of the just (righteous) is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day.” Read Proverbs 4:18 (AMP). Watch this, the path is the path of obedience, of righteousness, of faith and of love which inadvertently leads to fulfilment.

I believe wholeheartedly we are entering into seasons of triumph, where the Lord according to His word says, “I will cause you to lift your hands in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed.” Read Micah 5:9. Watch this, having no understanding of the scripture is an enemy, and I declare your hand would be lifted up in triumph; why? Because God’s word from henceforth will take centre stage in our lives in Jesus Name. Declaring that God’s word will rule our lives, seeing God’s word taking root and having its way as it relates to everything which concerns us in the Name of Jesus.

We have only just started the discussion, there is more…

We write. You read. Be encouraged.