Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Romans 6:13
God is a blessing God and He has amazing promises in His word for us to hold on to while we wait with anticipation for the promises that we have been given to become our reality in the natural world. Life is not always what we think it will be even if you are called and anointed by God. Ask David, he was anointed to be King of Israel and spent approximately 15 years waiting for that calling to manifest. His family did not value him and excluded him from important family functions. After he was promised to be king, he was summoned to the palace to play music and rid the King (he would replace) of the evil spirits that tormented him. He had to contend with his brothers to even get a seat at the table and endure their criticism when he obeyed his father and took them food in the battle. He grabbed the opportunity before him to kill Goliath as a pathway into the palace because he was promised he would marry the King’s daughter if he succeeded. Once again, he was robbed of the promise that was made to him and Saul gave his first daughter to someone else to marry. Saul offered David his second daughter and the servants told David he would have to bring in the foreskins of 100 Philistines for the bride price, hoping the Philistines would kill David. Oh, but when God promised to bless you, He will see to His word and fulfill it. In Isaiah 55:11, God said, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth, it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” David killed the Philistines and married Michal only to spend the next 15 years or so running for his life, because of Saul’s jealousy. Finally, at the age of 30 David was anointed King and ruled over Israel for 40 years and had the honor for the Messiah to come through his bloodline. I love what he wrote in Psalm 23:5-6 as he looked back over his life, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life;” For the average person it would feel like trouble was just around the corner, but David knew that it was God’s goodness and mercy that was with him and made sure he made it to the Palace to fulfill the call of God on his life. Our thoughts determine our actions, our actions determine what we reap in life. Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” David was not the only one that went through the refining process. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers before the God given dream came to pass that his family would one day bow before him. Moses got ahead of God’s process and killed an Egyptian and had to run for his life. It cost him forty years in the back side of the desert. As a human being, I like the promises of God, but I find myself wrestling with the process God takes me though for the promise to come to pass.
When we visited the Bahamas, not only do they drive on the wrong side of the road, their “yield” sign is very different. In the USA, our sign actually says “Yield”, but theirs is worded a little different, it says “Give Way.” Basically, they mean the same thing, that when traffic is already moving, it allows the traffic that is already moving to keep moving and one must be ready to stop and not interfere with the ongoing traffic. When a give way sign is posted, it does not mean the traffic has to stop, but to be prepared to stop and give way to the ongoing traffic, just as we do at our yield signs. The way they were worded really got my attention. “Give way” made me think of putting someone else first. The definition of give is “to allow someone to have or take, to provide someone with.” The definition of way is “how someone or something does something, a method or system that can be used to do something,” Give way is the opposite of “my way or the highway.” Give way is to surrender my thoughts and processes to someone else. There are things in life that I know nothing about and it would be foolish to plow full speed ahead and do it my way instead of listening to the experts in the area. It is wisdom to learn everything you can before you make and act on a decision. That raises the The real challenge is yielding to God and His plan for our lives. Yes, we keep the ten commandments and do a pretty good job of loving God and others, but how many times do we want to do our own thing or do something God has asked us to do our own way. We get excited about Jeremiah 29:11 ”For I know the plans that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” until the plans we have for our life do not match the plans He has for us or we have to go through the process of “give way” and do things God’s way and in His time. It would be interesting to interview everyone who has successfully completed the plans God had for them, I think the majority of them would say there were times the will of God did not make much sense or they had to go through a painful process to be all God has for them. Jesus was even faced with the decision to go to the cross for all our sins or to call a thousand angels to rescue Him. Instead of choosing His own plan, He spent time in the Garden praying until He could finally say “Your will be done.” Sometimes we forget that we are to fit into God’s plan and not try to fit God into our plan. His thoughts and plans are so much better than we could ever do on our own. Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My Ways,” says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” God can see the whole big picture and He knows how He designed us, what would fulfill us, what talents and abilities we have been given, what kind of load we are equipped to bear, and what our downfalls would be. He knows just where to place us at the perfect time. It would be unjust of God to just let us loose with no training, guidance or direction. Like all good soldiers that go into battle or serve to stabilize the world they are in, we must be trained how to handle situations, disappointments, our faith and our emotions must be strengthened to handle the coming assignment. Many Christians get discouraged and even offended at God when His time table is not theirs or when they face obstacles that seem immovable. While I struggle to count it all joy when I face difficulties, James 1:2-4 teaches, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith (the trials and tribulations) produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and completely lacking nothing.” The problems that God allows us to face are limited, He is training us to be patient and perfect. Peter 5:10 says it this way, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after you have suffered a little while be perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” While we yield or give way to the will of God we will be equipped for the battle if we stay in the Word of God. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for instruction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be completely thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. God is omniscient, he knows the past, the present and the future and He can navigate you around the traps the devil puts in front of us when we yield to Him. When God is navigating our journey, we will succeed. Psalm 10:5 promises “His ways are always prosperous.”
When we have fully yielded to God and His work in us, allowing the obstacles and troubles we face to fully train us, we start to yield fruit. The writer of Hebrews understood how hard it was to endure, “No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained in it. One of my goals is to know that I used my life to honor and obey God and that my life made a positive difference for others. I love what Jeremiah 17:7-8 promises. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” In my translation, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and has learned to yield to Him, and whose hope and security is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the river, and will not fear when the heat comes or any problem life throws at him. Even its green leaf will not wither when problems arise, causing everyone else to dry up. But will continue to yield fruit.” Are you willing to yield to God so you can yield fruit? Cathy Nesmith