Motivation Monday - Why You Must Start with Yes

“If God has called us, He will also equip us with all that is necessary to do His will. He will grow us in faith, teach us skills, and give us His strength to persevere in every season. All we need to do is say ‘yes’. Yes Lord, I love you. Yes Lord, I trust you. Yes Lord, I will follow you.
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We are on the brink of a new season in the calendar year. For many, it is a going back…a going back to school, to regular hours, to the routines that let us know that summer is over and it’s time to get back to reality. 

For some of us, it is a going forward. We are asking ourselves questions not just of this new season but of our lives as a whole. I can become restless with wanting to know that the calendar is filled with good work, good family time and life-giving relationships. I want my daily time in God’s presence to give me my marching orders for the day, and each day into the future. I simply just want to know. I am not comfortable with the blank spaces.

I want to know if the plans I have committed to align with God’s purpose for my life. And so I keep asking. And that is the point. 

Keep asking, and before God gives the answer, 

be ready with a yes on your lips.

“Nothing shapes our lives as much as the questions we ask - or refuse to ask throughout our lives. Purpose, however, is not a question that we can answer once and be done with. We typically bring up the question of purpose at key transitions throughout our lives.  At those times we ask questions like:  Who am I? What am I meant to do here? What am I trying to do with my life?” Richard Leider

Perhaps you are entering a season where you have questions about not only your daily plans, but about God’s bigger purpose for your life.

You generally will want to follow God when you know where He is taking you and what He is asking of you. But perhaps the first step is saying yes to God before His revelation to you. 

The first step of a new season is your "Yes".

A new season can be different, unfamiliar, even a little frightening. When God told me about the season He had in store for me seven years ago as I stepped out on the journey that saw Gather Women launched as a national movement,  I wondered if I would be able to steward it well. It was a momentary thought, but it reminded me of my focus. I will seek first the kingdom of heaven and God will take care of the rest. My yes came before I even knew the ways in which He would connect women across Canada for mutual encouragement and increased leadership impact.

And now that both I and the ministry have come to a new season that is a gateway to many unknowns,  I realize that I will always have questions. And that’s okay.

It is the questions we ask that keep us close to the Father’s heartbeat. 

It is there we will find the answers, perhaps not for tomorrow, 

but for the step we need to take today.

If God has called us, He will also equip us with all that is necessary to do His will. He will grow us in faith, teach us skills, and give us His strength to persevere in every season. All we need to do is say 'yes'. Yes Lord, I love you. Yes Lord, I trust you. Yes Lord, I will follow you.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33

Before we know the path, we need to surrender our plans to God.

At some point, we need to fully surrender to the adventure without knowing the details. We can live in purpose because it was planted in us at birth.

Purpose is that deepest dimension within us - our central core or essence - where we have a profound sense of who we are, where we came from and where we are going. It’s an internal confidence that God’s purpose will be the anchor for our plans in a new season.

Although there may be empty spaces in your fall calendar and you wonder if God is aware of your need to know what will fill them, will you say yes to simply following Him? Know that you were created from purpose, for purpose and that His plans for you will always align with His purpose for you.

Just start with yes.

“We want our lies to catch fire and burn blue, not smolder. We want to use ourselves up, leave this life the way we entered it - complete - and die with a yes on our lips and not a no, making that last transition, that final threshold with some grace, with eyes wide open and not squeezed shut. We don’t want to enter the kingdom kicking and screaming and begging for more time. Following our calls, our dreams, in one way to love the lives that God gave us and to flood them with light that can shine back out of them.” Gregg Levoy

I pray for your yes today. I pray that you will be women with a yes on your lips and your hand raised for kingdom impact even though you don’t see it now. Gather is here to come alongside you as you discover birthright gifts, develop them and deploy them into a world that needs exactly what you have. 

Just start with yes.

I believe in you! God bless.

Cathie