Say Yes
The house, having expanded to wrap around our friends and family these past number of days, is contracting again to hold the two of us close. It’s always amazing to me how that happens. The rooms now carry only the fragrance and whispers of holiday moments shared with loved ones, and this lingering afterglow of the substance of our time together is poignant.
We look back over this last year with all the hills and valleys of the journey momentarily frozen for our contemplation and perspective, and we see the constant faithfulness of God. In the dark shadows of uncertainty and in the bright light of hope, the firm path of faith has carried us to where we are, poised between two years of days. What will we bring forward, and what will we leave behind?
Many people will make resolutions during this pause. Some will make new habits, and some will settle back into old ones. I’m so grateful that the Lord orders my steps and that the new year, for me, begins with a month of fasting. This is a time of recalibrating, a time of shifting focus, a time of changing rhythm. These few weeks God has set apart for me to seek His face and be adjusted in His presence. I don’t make resolutions, but I do ask God to direct my path and reveal His purpose. Transformation happens in The Potter’s hand.
In order for me to seek Him, I will say “no” to some things. Things that waste my time, or things that offer only momentary gratification. I will prayerfully consider what things may have become more important to me than my relationship with Him, and I will turn my heart and my eyes to the beauty of His holiness. In that holy light darkness will flee, and in the wind of His Spirit chaff will fly away. It’s more a matter of His presence changing things than it is a matter of me deciding to change things. My will is to choose Him. It is His will that works in me for His good pleasure. I say “yes” to God.
Dear one, what is it that you will say “no” to in the coming days? What is it that you will say “yes” to?
“See, I have placed before you today life and happiness, and death and adversity, in that I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you may live and become numerous, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you will certainly perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and take possession of it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, so that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20 NASB)
Until next week, beloved, choose life and see the glory of God in your living.