MARY SAID “yes”
(Luke 1:38)

Saying “yes” to God is releasing God from the expectation
that He will fulfill my desires
and choosing to cooperate with Him
in what He is doing
in my life and in the world around.
It is choosing (or willing) to be an instrument in the hand of God,
so that
He can do that which would most honor and glorify Him.
It is staying focused daily, and minute by minute,
on Him ~
spending time with Him, experiencing Him,
hearing Him, seeing Him,
allowing Him to provide the day's agenda
by breaking through my ideas and into my plans
with things that may be “life disruptive”, disturbing my emotions,
challenging my thinking,
and frustrating my modus operandi.
BUT, He is God
and His ways are often beyond human knowledge and understanding.
Saying “yes” to God is relinquishing the need
to explain God and His ways to others,
growing in my dependency on Him,
and allowing God to work in me and through me
for His purposes.
Saying “yes” to God is confidently embracing the promises of His “I AM-ness”,
His sufficiency in all situations,
His ability to bring from that which is so incredibly difficult
something that will show His strength, power, and love.
Saying “yes” to God
is providing God the opportunity to move into His rightful position,
rendering me a more useful tool in His hand.

Saying “yes” to God did not insure Mary a life without struggle.
Her “yes” brought with it difficulty from the start ~
an aloneness in her experience that is hard to comprehend,
questions and concerns on the part of her betrothed,
a need to travel via foot into the hill country
to find a barren woman now pregnant for support,
a census that put her on the back of a donkey for 97 miles
during the last week of her pregnancy,
delivering the Promised Child without extended family support,
knowing Herod's wrath that dictated death to all Jewish boys under 2 years old
and fleeing with Joseph and the child to Egypt,
seeing Jesus' ministry arouse the hatred of the Jewish leaders,
watching Him crucified as a criminal.

Jesus' “yes” to God led Him to the Mount of Olives and the hill of Golgotha.
(A "yes" to God has an impact on others' lives!)

To ponder:
In what way(s) has saying “yes” to God made life difficult for you?
Can you see how God has used your “yes” to bring about growth in your life
and impacted the lives of those around you?

Twila Charles Leichty
December 21, 2009