The Courage to Finally, Finally Say "Yes"

DO YOU HAVE THE COURAGE?

Your arm's too short to box with God. This statement is part of the opening line from the dramatic piece, The Prodigal Son, by James Weldon Johnson. Young man -- Young man -- Your arm's too short to box with God. I know. Many of you right now are responding in knee-jerk fashion like I did, "I'm not boxing with God". But every time we hesitate (not outright decline, but just hesitate) to say "yes" to his will, we are rumbling with his righteousness. Every time. Think about it. How many times have you hesitated to move, to pursue, to stop, to go, when Heaven made a request? There are too many to count for me. I don't know about you, but my arms are getting tired of fighting with My Father. If we want what God has for us, we have to see submission as Christ does.

Stress or Strength?

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” ~Matthew 11:28-30, New Living Translation.

Because of our flesh we will have burdens, but it is up to us how we manage them.

Are your hesitations increasing the weight?

Obedience to God is not a source of stress, but a source of strength. We have to stop believing the lie that we are losing out when we submit to His will.

You are stronger with Christ. Your burdens is light in Christ. You find rest in Christ. No excuse will cover and keep you like he does. Release the stress of disobedience and take on his strength.

Obedience: A Strategy for Destiny

When it comes to navigating purpose, Psalm 20 is easily one of my favorite passages. In it, we find a specific sequence of events has to take place before any plans succeed.

To paraphrase...

Trouble will come, but God will separate and secure you (verse 1).

Heaven will send you divine support (verse 2).

God remembers what you have given up in obedience to Him and will honor you for it (verse 3).

The seeds God he has planted in your pruned, circumcised inner man (desires of your heart) will then manifest making all your strategies succeed (verse 4).

Now, we can sing about your victories and the success of your godly requests (verse 5)!

The longer it takes for us to get to verse 3, the longer it takes to get to verse 4 and 5!

Most of the psalm is a prayer of intercession voiced by the congregation before King David goes into battle as a reminder that if its done God's way, he wins (and we know David is a winner).

What would happen in our lives if we used this same strategy for destiny? Our arms are too short to box with God, so why not win with Him?

Conclusion

The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! You have given him his heart’s desire, And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah ~Psalm 21:1-2, New King James Version

In Psalm 20:3 and 21:2 we see the word Selah, encouraging the reader to take in and reflect on what has just been communicated. In both texts, God is asking us to consider the possibilities of our heart's desire - seeds planted into our pruned, circumcised, obedient inner man - when we do this thing his way.

Remember, even your smallest hesitations towards obedience have strong ramifications, but you can still recover well once we stop seeing submission as losing control.

You want control? It's yours.

Find the courage

to give all of you

over to the one

who can do more for you

than you can do for yourself.

Anything you think God is trying to take away from you, you probably don't need. Stop believing the lie that we are losing out when we submit to His will.

Let the Gardener,

the Farmer,

the Father

get the weeds out of your garden of purpose and make your burdens on the road to purpose light.

As you do, know that I love you but God loves you more.