Thundering is so powerful. It reminds me of God’s power
every time I hear it. When I was younger I thought it was God bowling or moving
furniture around and it would also scare me to death at night. I would lay in
my bed even into college and early into my marriage and I would get saved over
and over again. I realize now I put the
power in thunder and the damage it could have caused rather in the One who
created it. My whole life I have leaned on people to lift me up, validate,
direct and give me wisdom to push through circumstances in my life. I misread
the power of God and therefore I watched others live out ginormous dreams and
see God in His entire splendor. It
wasn't until about 7 or 8 years ago that I began to truly see God for who He
was and not who my Sunday school teachers told me He was. I experienced Him. This morning it was storming really loud. The
rain was so thick you could feel the power behind each drop. Both of my girls left their raincoats in the
car and so we had to run quickly to the car to keep them from getting
soaked. The traffic was so thick that
both school lines were so backed up. On
the way home I decided to take a detour through a neighborhood to make it home
a little faster. I came to a yield sign and instead of slowing down looking back to wait for any cars coming around the curve I chose to just to pause. Without even glancing I began pressing down on the gas and wouldn't you know it around the curve came a car flying and I was forced to pull over into the
wet grass to keep him from plowing into me. I yelled “stupid idiot” and immediately
could feel the Holy Spirit say ‘really an idiot hmm who was suppose to yield
back there?” ouch! Webster defines the
word yield as this; to surrender to relinquish control, to give oneself up to
an inclination, temptation or habit. It
was so clear to me in that moment that God is always calling me to yield my desires
to His. He calls me to love, to speak words of life and to walk in obedience always yielding to His word and yet I often just "pause" because I need a desire fulfilled now. When I was driving this morning I saw that sign and yet I chose to pause rather than yield
because I “needed” to get home and that almost cost me a collision simply because I
chose to ignore the sign. God has
clearly laid out truths in His word for me to follow and to yield to. In Esther she chose not to yield to her fear,
insecurities and weaknesses in order to step into the presence of the king with
the hope of saving her people. In reality she chose not to pause but to
surrender and because of that her people were saved. She chose to step up yield
and step out.
Esther 4:16 “Go gather all the
Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf and do not eat or drink
for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do.
Then I will go to the king THOUGH IT IS AGAINST
THE LAW AND IF I PERISH, I PERISH.”
After I read this and I realized that the call was not only
for her to walk in complete surrender it was a call to the people she desperately
wanted to save to also press in deeper and walk in obedience. She asked them
not to eat anything and to fast. They
were yielding to the daily needs of eating in order to hear God in a time of desperation.
Just like Esther our choices trickle into
the lives of those who depend and need us to lead well. What about those who lead us and ask us to pray
and fast out of desperation? ouch for me again! We tend to get so caught up in chasing after what we think are the BIG things God is calling us to do that we choose not to yield to the daily small things He is laying out for us to do. He says love
Him and love His people. Two things believers hang their hats on right? But then we sit in a restaurant starving and when the waitress gets the order wrong we choose not to leave a tip because there
is a point to prove. Husbands what about
your wives? She needs to feel loved and pursued by you and your response is
money or what she isn’t doing. What about people who wronged you, talked about
you or hurt you in some way. Instead of yielding to God’s grace and forgiveness
you have allowed bitterness, resentment and pay back to take root in you. That picture of surrender and yielding to
God’s truths suddenly look a lot like my choice to just pause this morning
which almost caused a collision. We make
decisions daily based on what we want and need rather than how we can walk in
complete surrender to the Creator and when we find ourselves in a place of pain
that was caused by our disobedience we throw our fist up at God. Today God has called you to see Him clearly.
He is radiant! He is powerful! He is full of love and He is for you! Maybe today you are standing in the midst of
drought and you haven’t heard from God in so long and you desperately need to
hear His voice. Lean in and just be
still. As I drove back home I looked at the leaves and
because it was overcast the orange and yellow on the leaves were stunning and
that much brighter. Maybe you are in a season
of overcast and God wants to use you to shine that much brighter. His power is made known in your
weakness. Don’t yield to the desires of
your flesh today because they will always lead you down the road of
disobedience where a collision is awaiting.
Walk in God’s truth constantly yielding your dreams and desires to His
plan, His ways and timing for all areas of your life because I believe that
sometimes our biggest blooms come from the biggest droughts in our lives. You
think that dream or passion is wilting away but God is pruning and readying it
for the perfect timing. Don’t you dare give up on that dream, your marriage,
your calling or healing because a bloom is coming! Look for those “Esther” moments today and
step up, yield and step out because God is always faithful even those moments when we choose to pause.
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