Fearless You and the Power of Yes

I've been reading through Genesis, and I was struck by something interesting. Most of the time in Scripture, when an angel of the Lord appears, the first thing he says is, "Be not afraid." But not with Abraham. God just goes right into his plan about making him a great nation, calling him out from Ur, destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, sacrificing his son. Oh yeah, and circumcision. Scary stuff, but not for Abraham. What's even more interesting is that there is often very little resistance on Abraham's part. Sometimes a question or two, but it always seems more like clarification rather than fear.

There's even one part where Abraham stands between God and Sodom, basically saying, "You're making a mistake!" The Bible mentions Abraham's bosom several times, but I'm impressed by his cajones! God still destroys the cities, but he saves Abraham's nephew and his family from death.

Before I was committed to God, I used to have major headaches and stomach aches. In 5th grade, I went through all of these tests to see if I had ulcers or a brain tumor. Turned out, I just worried a lot. Even after I was following God for a while, I still struggled with it. But one day, I decided to stop.

I had been concerned about one of my friends who didn't know God. We were in high school, and I didn't see him much, but I asked God to give me an opportunity to talk to him. Then one day, we run into each other, and I just say hi and keep going. I knew instantly that I blew it. Internally, I prayed that God would give me another chance, and promised that I wouldn't back out. Two weeks later, I was out in the parking lot during class, and so was he. Just the two of us. I told him about how much God was changing my life, and he came to church with me later that week.

I realized that my life could mean something, if I allowed God to use it. It's no longer about me, we're talking about eternal consequences to those around me. What am I willing to give up for that? That day, I got comfortable with being uncomfortable.

/rant

I was reading this post about the power of yes this morning. I wonder what would happen if people who are followers of Christ began to start saying yes whenever they hear from him. Not, "let me pray about it" or other churchy ways of hiding their own insecurities. Just, "OK, let's go."

I think that we would have a lot less selfish Christians in this world. You know, the ones that say, "Hate the sin, love the sinner", but really, they hate anything that makes them uncomfortable. They blame God when things go "wrong" and can't seem to look beyond their own inconveniences. I wonder if God ever decides to just stop offering a chance to change the world because he already knows what our answer will be. Check out this retelling of Mark 10 for a little more perspective.

/end rant

Not too long after I decided to start being fearless with God, my life changed. I became a pastor, moved my family around, started planting churches. I found peace inside of situations beyond my control. I began to really care about people. I didn't need the logistics of every step God wanted from me. Abraham has a great life story. But the greatness isn't in what he did, but what God can do when we are willing to just say yes.