Yielding to the Light
My study and subsequent writing do not really follow a predefined path. I pray for guidance and understanding and I just follow where it leads. Often, I will start in one direction and end on another. This morning I started with Ephesians and end up on yielding… yield to myself or to God.
The direction turned to a devotional in 'Utmost for His Highest' by Oswald Chambers for March 14. The title is Yielding. His reference verse was Romans 6:16
Romans 6:16
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Romans 6:16 (ESV)
Now that is a powerful verse. If you read it and do not take pause to examine where you fall you might want to read it again. Until this morning I had always considered it as a decision as to who to follow. But Chambers caused me to look at it differently.
I had always seen this as a conscious decision. I would choose one or the other. But in Chamber’s devotional he points out that it is much more subtle.
Rich Young Ruler
I had always thought of the Rich Young Ruler when I thought of 6:16. The young man that chose his wealth over following Christ. He was sad, but he chose. The parable is in Mark 10:17-27
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is[a] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,[b] “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
As I read this passage I saw it a bit differently after considering Romans 6:16 and Oswald Chambers devotional.
Change
Oswald Chambers makes a point with Romans 6:16
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? Romans 6:16 (ESV)
It is a choice, but often it is a choice that comes from yielding to a temptation rather than a conscious decision to rebel. I looked up the word yield in the dictionary. It is one of those words we know more from traffic signs than behavior. Here is the definition…
Yield – give way to arguments, demands, or pressure.
Yielding
As I think about that this morning I am reminded of Ephesians 6:10-12
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
This is a battle we are fighting. There are forces that work to try and make us yield to our selfish nature instead of the love and grace offered my Christ Jesus. But ultimately it is a choice.
Oswald Chambers Take
I like the introduction to the March 14 Devotional
“The first thing I must be willing to admit when I begin to examine what controls and dominates me is that I am the one responsible for having yielded myself to whatever it may be. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame because somewhere in the past I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I obey God I do so because at some point in my life I yielded myself to Him.”
I read this and I thought of this tug of war that I played as a child… Two sides pulling on a rope and the one who pulls the other across the line wins…
Tug-of-War
I thought about this battle. Then I remembered who is on my team… Jesus. If I will turn to Him I cannot lose the battle. Only when my focus becomes internal… Only when my sight is on my circumstances rather than Christ Jesus am I likely to yield. That takes me back to Ephesians 6 and my need to acknowledge who is on the other side of the rope. The reality is that I cannot win without Jesus. I will yield to whatever the temptation without Him.
Closing Thoughts
My preacher, Terry Cooper, has said many times that the first step is to acknowledge the war. That is so true. This is a matter of life and death. Keeping this in mind, I like what Chambers said as he closed out the devotional…
“When you yield to something, you will soon realize the tremendous control it has over you. Even though you say, “Oh, I can give up that habit whenever I like,” you will know you can’t. You will find that the habit absolutely dominates you because you willingly yielded to it.”
Until we accept this truth… We will be like that rich young man who chose His wealth over Jesus. We have that same choice every day. We are attacked by insecurities and temptations. Alone we will yield to what comes naturally. The thing to remember is what Jesus told his disciples in Mark 10:27
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
You would not go to a gunfight with a knife… Why would you go to a spiritual battle without Jesus?
Prayer.
Father, please give me strength to hold fast to you in the challenges of this life.
Lord, you have promised to give me strength. You are my fortress.
Let me not neglect your council.
Let me not face anything without first bringing it to you.
For without you, I am lost but with you, I am saved.
In Jesus name, I pray, Amen!!!
