The secret is found in yielding. Yielding your life with its desirable and undesirable situations, your hopes and dreams, your every moment of every day to God. Sounds overwhelming doesn’t it? Deep breath! But believe it or not, yielding is the first step.
How difficult it sounds to absolutely “let go and let God.” Surrender requires a great deal of faith. Then suddenly we realize that these two, yielding and faith, walk hand in hand through the life we truly desire…a life filled with joy and peace that can only be found in Christ. However, if you are listening ever so closely, you will hear God whisper, “You don’t have to do this in your own power. I will bring this about through you. When you ask, I will bestow on you all the strength and grace you need to slowly progress from baby steps to giant steps towards trust, towards my open arms.” God never meant for our lives to be a never ending episode of “Mission Impossible.” That is why He sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross to save us from our sins, to be our resurrected, living Christ from whom we draw power to face each day.
That should bring some relief from the self-imposed defeat felt when we, taking the reigns of our lives, bring about all sorts of calamity. Our Heavenly Father does not condemn us. Instead, only a prayer for help and forgiveness away, God, who is the embodiment of love, stands ready to lift us up. And, if we are truly wise, once back on our feet, we will choose the path that directs us towards that figurative, yellow “Yield” sign He has placed in plain view. Praise God, we will not journey alone.
This is where you remember it is not about you and all about Him. How many times have we all failed in our self-fueled attempts? You are to draw on His daily replenishment of faith and grace to make this pilgrimage. This time, reach out, take His hand, feel His peace. For myself, each step towards that “Yield” sign has lightened my load, clarified my purpose, delighted me with God’s presence. My eyes have been opened to needs and situations that my self-focused life never honed in on. There is a sensitivity to God’s leading and precious moments spent living out His will for my life that I could otherwise have missed.
Won’t you come with me, listening, yielding, seeking God in your life? What joy awaits you! What purpose He has for your life in His Kingdom, in the lives of the people you encounter daily. Even “baby steps” in the right direction count. But be prepared. That blackbird sitting on the sign in the photograph might as well represent Satan because he will show up attempting to stop you in your tracks. He has his own agenda and definition of yielding. Remember whose hand you are holding. Ask God to shoo him away and march forward! Go with God! To God Be the Glory!