Monday, March 22, 2010

Saying Yes to God: Part One

All last week, God had me on assignment. Say “yes” to Him. Worried about something? Say “yes” to God. Waiting on God’s answer to a need or prayer? Say “yes” to God. Frustrated with waiting? Say “yes” to God.

Know what this exercise did?

** Redirected me from worrying. Yippee!

** Kept me from resenting Him while I wait. (Ugh, hate this about my response to Him.) Good news: saying “yes” to Him retrained and redirected me.

** Made the waiting more bearable.

** Gave me hope in the middle of my circumstances.

** Made me see God differently. In saying “yes” I had to remind myself of His goodness. He’s going to come through for me. He’s going to keep His promises. I can count on Him.

Now, this isn’t the same as saying “yes” to the pressures around me, or even the blessings around me. It’s saying “yes” to God.

God wants us to see Him as He is, not as we think He is. I will not now give you the lowdown on what God is really like, as if I have all the answers. God Himself wants to show us, individually. If we have our eyes open.

Sometimes we don’t want to know. We can control the “God” we’ve invented. We can control the “God” we’ve defined. He’s so unutterably good that He wants to 1) show up in the midst of our insecurities and misunderstanding Him and 2) bless us!

Sunday, during worship, we sang about God speaking to us, about Him unveiling our eyes so we can see Him clearly.

If God blessed us the way we hope He will (promises He’s made to us, special requests) without us really knowing His heart behind the blessing, we’d miss something. We’d miss a relational moment. God wants intimacy. If we can get to know Him while in the midst of trials, we’ll really know Him once through them.

So, in the midst of my saying “yes” to Him lately, I’m asking Him to reveal Himself to me as He is.

And guess what? He’s so much more “good” than I’ve ever imagined. You think you know He’s good? Ask Him to show you again, at a deeper level. He’s going to surprise you. It’s humbling and tenderizing to see His great goodness.

Say it with me now, “Yes, God.”

In a couple of days, I’ll post Part Two of this “yes to God” series.

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