When Women Say Yes to God
By Lysa TerKeurst
You are a woman perfectly equipped to say yes to Him. Notice that I did not say you are a perfect woman. But if you are in the thick of living with all that life throws at you and you simply whisper yes, you are equipped. "Yes, Lord. I want Your patience to invade my desire to fly off the handle.” "Yes, Lord. I want Your perspective to keep my emotions in check.” "Yes, Lord. I want Your provision so things don't seem so overwhelming.” "Yes, Lord. I want Your courage to do what I feel You calling me to do.” "Yes, Lord. I want and need more of You in every moment.”
You don't need perfect circumstances to be a woman who says yes to God. You don't need the perfect religious attitude or all the answers to religious questions. You simply have to surrender all that's clamoring for attention in your heart with the answer God is longing to hear spill from you lips, "Yes, God.”
Each day when I wake up I pray a very simple prayer even before my feet hit the floor.
God, I want to see You. God, I want to hear You. God, I want to know You. God, I want to follow hard after You. And even before I know what I will face today, I say yes to You. This simple act of surrender each morning will prepare your eyes to see Him, your ears to hear Him, your mind to perceive Him, and your heart to receive Him. This is how to live expecting to experience God.
You see, we have become so familiar with God yet so unaware of Him. We make the mysterious mundane. We construct careful reasons for our rules and sensible whys for our behavior. All the while our soul is longing for a richer experience — one that allows us to escape the limits of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell and journey to a place of wild, wonder, and passion.
Women who say yes to God will see life like few others. They are drawn in and embraced by a love like no other. They don't have to wait until the next time they're in church to experience God because they sense God's presence all around them, all through their day. Instead of merely walking through the motions of life, they pursue the adventure of the moment-by- moment divine lessons and appointments God has in store for them. They expect to see God, to hear from Him, and to be absolutely filled by His peace and joy — and, therefore, they do and they are.
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A woman who says yes to God isn't afraid to be honest with God. Just last week I woke up feeling drained and overwhelmed. I couldn't quite put my finger on the source of my anxiety, but I couldn't shake it, either. As I prayed my normal prayer of wanting to see and hear God, I told Him honestly that I really needed to see evidence of Him in my day. Later on I was in my kitchen washing dishes, preparing dinner, and talking with one of my sons. My attention was focused on my son while my hands were just going through the motions of my tasks. Suddenly I felt God's strong impression on my heart to look down in the sink before I reached for another dish. As I did, I saw a very sharp butcher knife sticking blade up from inside a glass. Immediately, I knew God's presence was there. I closed my eyes and thanked Him. More than just for sparing my hand from serious injury, I thanked Him for caring enough to be so real in my life.
A holy God in the middle of life's mundane activities will change your life. But you might not always feel happy about the changes. I can't let you think that being a woman who says yes to God means everything will suddenly be happily ever after. As I am writing this, I must tell you about an experience I had today where I simply wanted to throw my hands in the air, throw my computer out the window, and cry out to God, "You have hurt my feelings and I'm just a little unnerved and upset!”
Don't we all long to see God at work? Evidence of His activity around us, in us, and through us is the greatest adventure there is. The God of the universe wants to use you!
There is but one requirement for this adventure. We have to set our rules and agendas aside — our dos and don'ts, our social graces and proper places — and follow God's command. His one requirement is so simple and yet so profound:
Whatever God says do, do it. That's it. That is the entire Bible, Old Testament and New, hundreds of pages, thousands of verses, all wrapped up in six words.
It is the call of the radically obedient woman who makes the choice to say yes to God.
Adapted from
What Happens When Women Say Yes to God
© 2007 by Lysa TerKeurst. Published by Harvest House, Eugene, OR; Used by Permission.
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