“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” James 3:17……………..
“Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14………….
“You have your answer,” the Spirit of God told me early one morning as I was still waking up concerning something big and important that had been occupying much of my time and thoughts in days past.
“Say no and move forward,” He told me.
If you don’t know me well, you don’t know that this is one of the most powerful messages from the Lord I had ever received. Not only that, but the Lord had grown me beyond description over years past in learning to follow Him because not too very long ago I would have pretended not to hear Him, tried to convince myself He hadn’t spoken, tried to justify how it wasn’t God speaking, or simply heard Him and brusquely selfishly lustfully just gone and done what I wanted to do all the while disregarding, dishonoring, and not obeying Him.
Why was this such a powerful message, and how might this also be a message for you?
I have a long history of saying yes to what I need to say no to for four main reasons:
I want to satisfy myself (self-centeredness, selfishness, self-seeking, all SELF, SELF, SELF)
I am afraid if I don’t take and say yes to what is right in front of me I won’t get what I need or want, and I think I need to be in charge of providing for myself and figuring out what I need and want and working things out (NOT looking to God for His will, His time, and NOT trusting Him)
NOT believing in God’s goodness, that He wants the best for me, and that He DOES have a plan, in HIS time frame, and not simply for my pleasure, but for HIS GLORY, and that His plan is good
Impatience. Wanting the answer NOW and for things to move forward NOW and not being willing to WAIT for God
That morning was a turning point for me. I was facing a decision. A choice. I could have plowed on with what I was thinking of doing though I knew what God was telling me, or I could sacrifice my little plan, hand it over to Him, say no to what He wanted me to say no to, without seeing His perfect answer in sight, and fully trust HIS plan in HIS time for HIS GLORY.
Just two days before, right in the midst of strongly considering moving forward with what God wanted me to say no to, a friend sent me the scripture about waiting above. And God sent me two different people to strongly warn me against what I was thinking of doing. In the past, I would have disregarded all of this. But I knew what to do. I knew I needed to say NO to what God wanted me to say no to, and to WAIT for what God wanted me to say YES to, and ultimately to make sure whatever decision I make will be first and foremost TO BRING GOD GLORY.
What had God told me? Say no, and move forward. He didn’t say no and stay in place. It was time to let go and move forward. His wisdom was clear. His direction was obvious. It was time to obey.
Friend, please remember in ALL your decision making to make the LORD and HIS WILL and HIS TIME and HIS GLORY your very highest priority!
Amen!