Do you ever feel like there are too many choices? I often feel that way. My wife asks me to pick up laundry detergent and I’m so glad she is specific on which brand she wants because the choices are overwhelming…and that’s just the first thing on the grocery list!
When it comes to following Jesus we like to believe there are equally as many choices as there are brands of detergent, but in reality there are only two.
We don’t want to believe there are only two. We want the choices to be nuanced, we want the choices to have more shades of grey. I wonder if we want more grey as a way to shield us from responsibility.
When God asks you to do something you have 2 Choices…YES or NO.
We help the “no” go down easier by saying “later” or “not yet”. God asks us to forgive and our choice is simply… YES or NO. He asks us to serve others with our time and talents and our response is either…YES or NO. You have that simple choice in everything from singing, inviting a friend, putting your spouse first, to being generous…you say YES or NO.
The reason people get bored with their faith is that they stop saying YES to God. Every time I’ve seen someone wander away from the faith it can always be traced back to a NO.
For example God says sexuality is a gift you give to your spouse only in marriage…they say NO…and begin drifting away. Why? Because they’ve started hardening their heart toward God. They’ve stopped following Him and started following themselves. Each NO makes the next NO easier.
Every week you attend a church service you basically walk out of there saying YES or NO. YES, I will obey what scriptures says or NO I won’t. Every time you finish reading your Bible you close it and say YES or NO. Every time you say NO…your heart begins to shrink a few sizes. Your light gets a little dim…and before long you’ll say, “I used to go to church.”
Maybe you’re thinking… “But wait…if God asks me to do something big like he did with (anyone) in the New Testament…I would say YES. I just don’t want to be troubled with all of these ‘trivial’ things.” No, you wouldn’t. How do I know that? Actually I don’t but Jesus said you wouldn’t.
Jesus said if you aren’t faithful in the little things you won’t be trustworthy with greater things (Luke 16:10).
If you want God to use you in BIG ways but you feel like nothing is happening, could the reason be that you keep saying NO to all of the “little” things God asks you to do? The best thing you can do is to go back to the last thing God asked you to do…and do it! Whether it is forgiving, tithing, get baptized, or something else. Be faithful in the little acts of obedience.
As someone once said, “Great big doors swing on tiny hinges of obedience.”
The reason people say NO is they’ve weighed the cost of obedience and found it too great. They lack spiritual maturity to see that what God is asking them to do is for the greater good or to set them up for success later on. Don’t be one of those people.
God’s dream for your life is better than anything you can possibly imagine. It just requires you to simply say YES…whenever or whatever…no hold backs, no reserves…YES every time God asks you to do something.
