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DAY FOUR: Say Yes

If you have kids, then you have likely experienced the frustration that comes when you ask your children to do something and they respond by hesitating or saying no or asking why. On my best days, I am patient and respond with love. On other days, frustration creeps in when they don’t respond with an obedient “yes” because, truly, what I am asking of them is for their benefit. It might not seem pleasant at first and they may not understand why it’s important, but I see the bigger picture and how they will be grateful later for doing what I am asking of them now.

It’s the same way with God. He expresses this in Jeremiah 7 when He asks His people for obedience so “that it may go well with [them].” He sees the bigger picture and the benefits His people will experience later if they do what He asks of them now. Verse 24 explains how obedience is what moves them forward, after they’ve disobeyed and have moved backward.

There are some times when the instruction isn’t made clear and we aren’t sure whether what we’ve heard was from God or not. We aren’t trying to say no or be disobedient, but we end up there when we hesitate and doubt our ability to hear His voice. I love how Mordecai responds to Esther’s hesitation to say yes in Esther 4:14. “Who knows,” he says. Another translation says, “Perhaps.” Mordecai isn’t sure about what Esther should do but he is sure that God will be faithful to His people either way, and he can’t help but point out how Esther has come to this exact position at this exact time. He asks, might it not be just a coincidence? While Esther may have been wondering, “Why me?” Mordecai was asking, “Why not you?”

This is the question we all must face at some point or another: Why not me, right now, with what I have? We always have the opportunity to respond to God’s promptings like Isaiah did in chapter 6. “Here I am. Send me!”

What are some opportunities you’ve said no to—or are tempted to turn down—because you aren’t certain of the outcome? Challenge yourself to not ask, “What if I fail?” but rather, “What if I succeed?”