Best Yes

Dear Sisters,

Does the saying “overwhelmed schedule, underwhelmed soul” resonate with any of you?  Well, it sure does with me.  That is the title of one of the chapters in the book The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst.   In the busyness of life it is so easy to put off my 20 minutes a day.  My focus falls on my list and making myself available to anyone or anything that comes my way.  And, sometimes when working in ministry, I feel obligated to say yes all the time and question if no is acceptable.  As a result, I live at the mercy of the requests of others that come my way each day.  But what I am realizing is other people’s requests dictate the decisions I am making.  So I often live my life reactive instead of proactive.  Lysa hit it home for me when she says, “We must not confuse the command to love with the disease to please.”  This advice helped me tremendously.

 Lysa talks about yes and no being the two most powerful words you can communicate.  In God’s plan I have a part to play.  The basic meaning of a “best yes” is me playing my part. I should live my life making decisions with the “best yes” as my best filter.  So, for me as I run from one demand to the other, I begin to see my time with the Lord hitting the back burner.  Maybe I miss a day or two, or I still have my time with the Lord, but I’m so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open.  This shows me my yes’s are overwhelming my “best yes” and depleting my soul.  An underwhelmed soul is one who knows there is more God made her/me to do.  Unless I am in constant communication with the Lord and spending time to listen to Him, I end up with an underwhelmed soul.  Then what is the point?  My desire to serve the Lord and be a blessing to others fades.  How can I bless others if I am not in relationship with the Lord.

One of the best pieces of advice from Lysa is, “Seek instruction before direction.”  The only way I am going to truly know God’s direction for me is to seek His instruction from His Word, prayer, and listening to Him.  Having unbroken companionship with Him helps me hear His instruction.  Then I can see His direction, which of course, leads me to the “best yes.”  So, it is becoming clear, I am going to need to say no to some things in order to say yes to the best things.  At the top of my yes list is time with God, digging in His Word and being still before Him to hear from Him.  How are you doing with yes and no?  Is your busyness interfering with putting God first?  Will you join me in re-prioritizing and keep our time with the Lord our “best yes?”

Listening to Him,

Kathy