A Life Yielded to God
Hello Friend!
There are seasons in life with more questions than answers.
You might be wondering about your purpose, your calling, or your future. You may be working through the past and putting together broken pieces. You might have hit a roadblock or a detour you weren’t expecting. You might be numb with discouragement or paralyzed by fear. You may be hopeful and excited about adventures and projects unfolding. Or, you might be bored with waiting. You might be blissfully content or you may be grieving. The human heart is capable of countless emotions and the human experience is a journey of diverse kinds of experiences.
No matter what you face right now, there is a relentless grace in pursuit of your heart. You might feel like the furthest person from God. You might be angry with him. You may feel rejected, or dejected. And as real as those feelings are, you are loved. Unconditionally. You can’t change that reality. No ideology, no theory and certainly no rationalization can change his love.
Or maybe you feel close to God and you are seeking him the best that you know how, but your relationship with Him still feels lifeless.
Or maybe you are burdened for a loved one and longing for them to understand and know the power of God’s love in their life.
Let me encourage you, let me encourage my own heart as well, to yield.
“Yield?” You might be thinking. “What does that have to do with anything? Thanks a lot, Jess, that doesn’t help or encourage me at all.”
Hang with me for a second, let me explain.
Yield might sound like it has more to do with traffic signs…but I’m talking about a posture of our hearts, our minds, our very souls.
A life yielded to God is like the clay in the potter’s hands. It stays moldable, it takes the shape as the potter gently pushes and pulls it. The result? Something beautiful and useful, something created with a purpose. I want that! But I must yield to my creator, right?
So what might be some practical ways for you and me to yield to God today? There are many! But here are three to get us started:
- Get quiet…like really quiet. Or, as quiet as possible. Get alone with God. Don’t have expectations for that time with Him, simply give over your distracted mind and busy schedule. King David writes in the Psalms, “But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me” (Psalm 131:2). Have you ever seen a hungry newborn? That is us! Feed me! Feed me! I need more! We are discontent, distracted and rooting for more. Yielding to God looks like the older toddler, content to sit on her mother’s lap, calm, playful and observant. Let us quiet our souls to be able to sit with our Heavenly Father. Content. Calm. Observant.
- Trust Him. It is difficult to yield to someone and give them the right of way in your life if you don’t trust them. Think about it, would you hand over the remote, your phone, your car keys, your credit card to just anyone? No! Trust is a big deal. Trusting God is an even bigger deal. It goes beyond belief in Him to giving over control. Maybe you’ve never done that. Maybe you’ve done that, but keep grasping for control. Maybe you have hurt places that have made you draw back and question. Trust in God must be wholehearted (Proverbs 3:5&6).
- Look for him. Recognize him. Remember what he has done, see what he is doing now. Give him credit. Give him glory for every good gift (because James 1:17 reminds us they are all from him). Acknowledge his goodness, faithfulness, love, protection, provision, presence, grace, justice, mercy, righteousness, creativity, and kindness. If you miss it, how can you be thankful for it? If you miss his work in your life you may take credit for what God deserves. In everything look for God. He is there.
So friend, in this new day, in this new grace given to us, let us yield and give the right of way to God. Let us learn to trust him in ways we haven’t before. No matter what your yesterday looked like, today you can yield to Him.
Singing His Grace,
Jess
