Principles on Yielding

Every time I take the exit to get to the hospital where I work, I come upon a yield sign.

And I’m given a choice: I can stop or I can go.

There are days the road is wide open, and I go. But there are other days when I must stop and wait for at least 5 minutes before I’m given the ok to go.

It doesn’t matter how late I am to work, I’m at the mercy of the yield sign.

Once, when I wasn’t paying close attention, I started to go too soon, and I rear ended the guy in front of me. No foul, no harm, it was a minor incident, but enough to remind me to take that yield sign seriously.

There is no greater verse in the Bible for the Christian than I Corinthians 6:19-20 where Paul says this: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

When all is said and done, the Christian life all boils down to yielding. Will you gratify your self, or will you live by the Spirit?

I want to share with you 5 principles on yielding to help you in your walk through life.

1. Yielding is not a one time event. Just because I stop at the yield sign once doesn’t mean I don’t have to stop ever again. The yield sign is there for a reason, and it’s to be heeded every single time. It’s the same in your walk with the Lord. You may have yielded to him the moment you got saved, but that doesn’t mean that you’re done with yielding. Start each day with a yielded attitude that says “Lord, have you way in me today. I’m yielded to you.”

2. Yielding takes humility. Believe me when I say that I don’t like to yield. I’m much more of a “get it done, metal to the pedal, I’m sure I can beat the other guy if I go fast enough” type person. But God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. So I find myself again and again on my face asking the Lord to heal up my battered fenders, and to teach me to depend. Yielding takes humility. Don’t be too proud to admit it.

3. Yielding is easier when the material is soft. Have you ever tried to bend a steel bar? Impossible! Your heart is the same way. The harder it is, the less likely it is to yield. That’s why God says He loves a broken and gentle heart. If you sense that your heart is hard, start by confessing it to the Lord and ask him to soften your heart. Look for sin that has crept into your heart. Refuse to go on until you sense God softening you.

4. Yielding sometimes means stop, and sometimes means go. Do you ever catch yourself wondering if God is just out to get you? He doesn’t want you to have any fun, or drive too fast. He always wants you to slow down. Well you’re believing a lie.  Yielding doesn’t always mean no but it always means slow. Sometimes the way is clear and God says Go! But other times it’s dangerous to go on and you better stop. God loves you so much he won’t let you crash, if you’ll just slow down long enough to hear Him.

5. Yielding could save your life. I’ve inferred it already, but yielding could mean the difference between life and death for you. Hey Christian, are you insisting on your own way? Proverbs 16:25 says “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

Your way or God’s way. Every day.

Your choice.

Related posts: