Yes, Yes, No, No

“Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’?  But as surely as God is faithful…no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.  And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken to us to the glory of God.  Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ” 2 Co 1:17b-21.

Before my deepened relationship with Jesus occurred (Feb, 2006) I lived my life in a ‘Yes, yes…No, no’ manner.  I would make decisions based upon pleasing people and pursuing their approval.  I would say yes to things but in my heart I was overcome with not wanting to fulfill the promise.  I said yes to Bruce when he asked was I keeping within our budget, but my secret spending displayed a huge ‘No.’  There have past times when my words said yes, I had forgiven, but my distance and hidden resentment permeated a hidden no within the relationship.  We are only as good as our word and our integrity is what is at stake. 

Thankfully God is perfect at living up to His promises to us.  He says ‘Yes’ to never leave or forsake us.  He says ‘Yes’ to providing everything we need to walk our circumstances.  He says ‘Yes’ to giving us the desires of our heart if we will say ‘No’ to those unhealthy attitudes and behaviors.  His most precious ‘Yes’ to all of us as believers is the promise of eternal life.  His most precious ‘No’ is that through Christ’s sacrifice we will not ever be separated from His love…No, never!

I began to consider times in my life when my mouth said yes but my actions said no.  These times of being double-minded, double-hearted and double-crossing were times when I was not setting my mind and heart on the spiritual things.  It was a time before the cross was in the backdrop of everything I did.  I am imperfect in the pursuit of making my yes, yes and my no, no but with God’s promise of helping me stand firm in Christ, I can say Amen to the process.  I cannot wait until I live out the ‘Yes, yes’ of God.  Yes, I will one day embrace my loved ones who have transitioned into His arms.  Yes, I will one day walk those beautiful streets of gold.  Yes, I will receive certain promises in this life tucked tenderly in my heart regarding people in my life.  You can be certain that in Christ and by aligning your heart with God’s you will receive your ‘Yes, yes’ from God. 

God’s yes WAS yes in delivering my daughter from drugs!  God’s yes WAS yes in providing me with the sustaining and healing grace through the terminal illnesses of my dad and sister! God’s yes WAS yes in getting me through the tough time of caring for my father-in-law with Alzheimer’s.  God’s yes WAS yes in producing work for Bruce after a period of leanness.  And, God’s yes WILL BE yes in those secret things I treasure in my heart. 

Be encouraged that God has a storehouse of yeses for you today in your current situation and also in your future.