Chapter 1 - A Soul That Longs For More

I just finished reading Chapter 1 of "What Happens When Women Say Yes to God". The main topic was "whatever God says do, do it!".

Lysa told her story about giving her personal Bible away during one of her plane trips and how listening to God changed three lives that day. It really made me think about how we never know how God is using our actions to change the life of others around us. It also made me think about the times I didn't listen to him and how I may have been a stumbling block for someone.

On page 11 of the book it read "...I was also brokenhearted by the flood of thoughts that came to mind recounting times I'd told God no. How tragic to miss God's divine appointments. I just kept wondering, How many times have I told You no, God? How many times because I was too tired, too insecure, too uncertain, too busy, or too selfish have I walked right past Your divine appointment for me and missed experiencing You?" This really hit home for me. I'm always complaining about not having enough time, for being so busy, for being tired....how many times has my excuses kept me from doing what God wants me to do. How many times did I say no to Him?

I loved the verse that was used.....Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." I really need to do this more and more. I believe this is going to be my next index card at my desk, in my car, and by my bed. So many times I try to do things my way instead of His, and so many times because of this I fail!

Lysa told us that we don't have to be perfect and we don't have to have all the answers to all the questions. She tells us that we must surrender all that's clamoring for our attention in our hearts - by giving Him our calendars, our worries, our desires, our needs, our wants, our interruptions - by giving Him everything - to simply say what He is longing to hear from us - "Yes God!"

This morning I was awoken by a new pup who didn't want to be in her kennel and with a husband who took her out but didn't want to stay up and play with her at 6am. My morning was really not looking good. I decided to get up and go into the living room with the new pup. While she played around my lap and feet, I finished reading Chapter 1. The following part really impacted me....

Lysa wrote: "Being a woman who says yes to God means making the choice to trust Him even when you can't understand why He requires some of the things He does. It also means that once you've said yes to God, you refuse to turn back, even when things get hard. This kind of obedience invites you to embrace a bigger vision for your life. When you look at your everyday circumstances through the lens of God's perspective, everything changes. You come to realize that God uses each circumstance, each person who crosses your path, and each encounter you have with Him as a divine appointment. Each day counts, and every action and reaction matters. God absolutely loves to take ordinary people and do extraordinary things in them, through them, and with them."

This morning God used a puppy (even though I didn't understand at the time and really wanted my husband to deal with it) to provide the opportunity for me to finish the chapter in this book. The statements above help me to realize that I really need to stop for the moment, take a breathe and really look at my life by God's prespective and not my own.

There are so many areas of my life right now that I'm struggling with - work, home, ministries. I need to see where God is wanting me to say "Yes" and just do it. I need to be in radical obedience. Lysa describes radical obedience as "hearing from God, feeling His nudges, participating in His activity, and experiencing His blessings..... I want to hear, feel, participate, and experience Him. So I close this chapter with my prayer to Him...

Lord, grant me the strength and wisdom to be a woman who says "Yes" to you. I want to hear you, to feel you, and to do whatever it is you want me to do. Take away my desire to do things my way, I want to trust in you with all my heart. I want to walk the path that you have for me and when times get tough Lord, take my hand and lead me. I surrender everything to you - my time, my thoughts, my worries, my hopes, my dreams, everything. In your amazing name, I pray. Amen.