What We Say YES To
On reflection, growth, and purposeful choices
Tom and I recorded our first podcast in almost four years. It was vaguely familiar, adjusting the microphone and enlarging my notes on the screen in front of me, but I did forget how to adjust the seat and ended up bouncing up and down a few times to get it right. We certainly enjoyed ourselves, and were even able to (mostly) ignore the noises upstairs—there were plenty of adults there to take care of whatever was needed.
Noises are a constant in my home. Even now, as I write this, my noise-cancelling headset does not cancel out the dishwashing with “Immortals” playing on the speakers behind me, the ukulele strumming on my right, the dog scrambling after the cat (who is hardly amused), or my two youngest getting their bedtime stories read. That’s how I write: in the in-betweens, little dips here and there, in the midst of an orchestral life alternating melody and cacophony. If I waited until my environment was perfectly silent for a better recording, I’d be sharing thick night hours with the cat, still unamused, squinting his unsympathetic eyes at me as I hypocritically espoused the benefits of quality sleep.
I think about this, this idea of waiting for the absolute best timing or environment before saying yes to an idea that keeps sticking pebbles in my shoes. For me, it is far easier, especially at the start of a new year, to begin with a whole lot of NO’s. As in NO more clutter, NO overspending, NO excess sugar, and of course NO podcasting without the perfect soundproof studio setup. As if I could beat my failings and my family and my body into submission to achieve anything whatsoever worth celebrating.
So, yes, there will be noises. If you listen, hopefully you’ll feel at home!
Ever and again, however, and more “again” than we perhaps mean to, we say YES to things that we actually don’t intend. I thought of this recently as I deleted my Instagram account. The longer I participated on that platform, the more I said YES to giving away my photos and content for free, to having my information sold, to being tracked even when I was off the platform. And on top of all that, I said YES to spending my time there getting “inspired”…but I rarely took that inspiration to do the real work of making either meaningful change or doing anything with my hands other than scrolling.
We actually say YES to quite a bit we don’t really want.
We say YES to household clutter when we don’t deal with our inner clutter or learn how to keep a house clean.
We say YES to financial ruin when we overspend and do not save.
We say YES to poor spiritual health when we avoid God or pretend He or His standards do not exist.
We say YES to poor physical health when we eat poorly or shun the sleep we need.
We say YES to poor relational health when we dodge difficulties instead of dealing with them.
Every day, we are making choices that are “yes and amen”, and those choices are either life giving or deadly. Perhaps not immediately, but the continuity of it either brings a beautiful harvest or, in the case of a persistent poisoning, ultimately brings death.
Where did you and I say YES this year? And were those things and ideas worth saying YES to? Was the result something we wanted, wished for, worked for, intended? If not, perhaps a review or repentance is needed, because we were, in some way, responsible for the results that we got, contributed to by our YESes.
Our decisions do, in fact, inch towards life or towards death. Unfortunately, our own waywardness is bent towards destruction because of the deception of sin that lies even within our own hearts. And, face it, we’re lazy. Saying YES to peace, righteousness, holiness, and courage means saying NO to a whole lot of things we might find uncomfortable saying NO to.
If we say YES to glorifying God, we must also say YES to humility and seeking to serve others, which often means saying NO to our own self interests.
If we say YES to enjoying God, we must also say YES to spending time with Him through the Word to get to know Him more, which means saying NO to cozy habits we know are quenching the Spirit.
If we say YES to enjoying His creation, we must also say YES to recognizing His power in having made all things from nothing, which means saying NO to the foolish notion of manifestation or affirmations or other such means of increasing our own (cough) “power”.
If we say YES to walking in holiness, we must also say YES to understanding the ten commandments as a schoolmaster that leads us to repentance and appreciation for the sacrifice made upon the cross, which means saying NO to doing whatever we think “feels” right “to me”.
If we say YES to peace with God, we must also say YES to receiving Jesus by faith to be pardoned, which means saying NO to justifying or excusing our own actions as having done nothing wrong.
If we say YES to courage, we must also say YES to His sovereignty, ownership, deliverance, preservation and equipping, which means saying NO to the idea of self-sovereignty, as trendy as that idea is.
I know many of us are reflecting on the past year, and looking forward to our goals and the growth we are hoping for in all areas of our lives. The circumstances will never be perfect this side of heaven. There will be challenges and trials coming that we know not of, and our faith, joy, gratitude, and trust will either grow or wane in response, even as God Himself continues the good work He began in us.
Let me encourage you to consider what you have said YES to this year, for better or for worse, and to perhaps begin a list of what you want to say YES to this year. You can follow up that list with BECAUSE, and SO I SHALL.
Let’s use, for example: This year I will say YES to growing in my understanding of the Bible BECAUSE it is sword of the Spirit and profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness SO I SHALL read three chapters every day before reading other materials, including screen time.
I’m hopeful this start of 2024. Not because I know what tomorrow will bring, or because I’m so strong, but because I know Who holds my tomorrows and in Whose strength my life is upheld. I hope this for you also, dear reader and friend.
May the new year bring great growth to us all, and may God be glorified in all that we say YES to.
P.S. For an excellent article on how culture catechizes us through social media, television, public education, or the internet, read HERE.
P.P.S. If you’d like to join us for our podcast, monthly challenges, and journal prompts to grow this year in many areas, join our private, paid subscription community.