Being Yes-able

I sat across from my daughter during a heated discussion thinking, “I would love to be able to tell you ‘Yes’, but you’re not being very yes-able right now.”

And I wondered as she sat there, arms cross defensively across chest, brows puckered in consternation and lip protruding in petulance how often God sits across from us thinking the same thing.

There have been times when I felt like I was banging my head against a stone wall with God. Nothing I prayed for happened. Doors kept slamming in my face. And I’d sit with angry tears wondering why things couldn’t just go my way for once.

Maybe, it’s simply because I’m not being very Yes-able, either.


What does being Yes-able mean?

First off, being Yes-able means my face is toward God and I’m really listening.

Often I’ve watched my kids while I’m lecturing them about something and their glazed-over eyes are focused on the floor, their shoe or on a dangling string hanging from their shirt hem. And I’m left wondering if they’re even listening.

When we look at our circumstances instead of God, we do the same thing. I want to be like Samuel when the Lord first revealed himself to the boy and Eli realized who was calling Samuel’s name.

So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening ‘.” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening. 1Samuel 3:9-10

When He speaks, I need to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

Second, being Yes-able means you’re also Work-able.
Be willing to accept correction and willing to change what needs to be changed. Nobody likes discipline.

Hebrews 12: 5 says, "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

Hard times condition us, and draw us closer to God. Don’t let them shake your faith. When I’m faced with a disappointment or frustration, I remembered Joseph in prison. God had promised he would rule, and instead he finds himself in a dungeon? But Joseph needed that prison time to learn the things God needed him to learn in order to be a great leader.

Third, to be Yes-able means you are Will-able.

Yes, I know that’s not a real word, but we have to bend our will to God’s so we can walk in harmony with Him. Obedience. He said he wants it more than sacrifice.

But Samuel replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22

When God asks for hard things, are we willing to obey? Sometimes I find myself making excuses, just like my kids do when I ask hard things of them. Yet as a parent, I never ask my kids for anything I know in my heart they aren't able to accomplish. God is the same way. And if it’s too hard, He will direct our steps. That’s the kind of God we serve.

God wants to give us the desires of our hearts. He has good planned, not evil.
So when I hit up against a stone wall, I have begun to examine myself and ask,

“Am I being yes-able?”

Blessings,

J