Yes, Lord – Part 2

I am reminded of the song by Frank Sinatra, “I’ve lived a life that’s full. I’ve travelled each and every highway and more, much more than this I did it my way.”  Nice lyrics, but most dangerous for anyone who has been called to be a follower of Christ. Jonah tried it his way, and his way landed him in the belly of the fish. When he finally did it God’s way, a nation repented and was changed. YES, to God’s will leads to liberation, and No to God’s will leads to bondage and destruction; but God is a good God, He gives us chance upon chance to recalibrate and take the right turn. Lord Jesus, thank You for not casting us away even when our actions speak louder than our voices. Thank You for your outstretched arm to catch us when we fall, and to stabilize us and put us back on the path of your plan purpose and pursuits in Jesus Name.

God is truly so good such that He reached out to Jonah, and the Bible says, “Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: ²“Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” ³ This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.” Read Jonah 3:1 (ASV). A different response this time from Jonah. Watch this, God knows how to get our attention; we can be assured of that. It took Jonah to cry out from the belly of the fish. Where would you and I be crying out from, should we decide to run away from the call of God? It might not be from the belly of a fish, but whatever or wherever it is; let our response be YES to His will and to His way. There is always a second time, and my desire is that when that time comes round, we would be saying, YES SIR and HOW FAR DO I GO SIR?

Fast forward to Joseph’s story, the Bible makes us understand, “Joseph ran from portiphar’s wife; see how the Bible puts it, “Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, ⁷ and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. ⁸ But Joseph refused…” Read Genesis 39:6-8(NLT). Watch this, Joseph’s action was an indication of his response to God’s will, hence he was able to refuse and run from a situation which might have caused I don’t know what. So for us, when we are faced with a difficult or compromising choice, what would our response be? Would we have enough courage and boldness to stand our ground and trust in God’s command and counsel or would we succumb? Like I alluded to, our action is an indication of our response to God and His word. Here is a question for you to consider, what is constantly placing a demand on you? The Bible says, and Portiphar’s wife troubled Joseph day after day. Day after day there are things competing for our commitment; and being disciplined enough to say YES to the Lord is dependent on our spiritual connectivity and yieldedness to God’s will.

Have you realised that saying YES to God’s will takes an awful lot of courage. And the reason I say so is because with God’s call comes uncertainty and the unknown; and this goes against the rationale of intellectualism. The natural human mind wants clarity from the onset, but I suppose in our Christian walk, saying YES to God’s will is an act of faith in God, trusting that He would lead us down the path for which we were ordained to walk, hence the Bible says, “I knew you before you were formed within your mother’s womb before you were born I sanctified you and appointed you as my spokesman to the world,” Read Jeremiah 1:5 (TLB) In other words, God has already set the stage for you and I to be able to respond in the affirmative. A spokesman is someone who speaks on behalf of another; meaning we speak on behalf of the one who sent us.

Saying YES to God would mean you would be standing alone and most likely be different; and in some cases some people will call you wierd. But can I say to you there is nothing wierd or odd about saying YES to God, it is those who stand on the sideline and won’t respond to God, that might come across as wierd on the long run. If they keep watching and observing your life, they would come asking how did you do it; then you can minister to them God’s grace and loving kindness. Recall what the Bible says, and this is God’s message to Zerubbabel “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty—you will succeed because of My Spirit, though you are few and weak.” Read Zechariah 4:6 (TLB).

Dearly beloved, we have to understand, when God comes calling “He will not accept NO for an answer.” I can assure you, He knows how to get what He wants, and when He wants it; so why don’t we  just spare ourselves all the hassle and pain and discomfort and say YES to His will and to His way. There is a smile on my face as I think of Jonah; why? Jonah did not need to get into the belly of the fish to yield, he could have yielded the first time; and in like manner, we don’t need to go through death like experiences before yielding to the Lord.

Listen to this, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death.” Read Proverbs 14:12 (ASV).

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