As I ponder the memories of the past year, the defining theme of 2018 could be summed up in the word, “yielded.” It was a year of allowing Christ to stretch me more and fully accept His callings for my life. The most defining moment for me was standing on a mountaintop at ‘Fields of the Wood,’ a Bible-themed park, on my 53rd birthday. It was a significant birthday and God confirmed His plans for my life in amazing ways that day. It’s no coincidence that the biblical symbol of the number fifty-three is “faithful witness.”
While standing on the mountaintop, the sky was blue like beautiful pools of water and the golden rays of sunshine were radiantly shining down as I stretched my arms toward HEAVEN.
I wept as I prayed: “Lord, I am Yours. Take me and use me however You desire. I will go wherever You lead me…together with my husband.”
It was one of the most powerful moments of my life as I stood on a concrete platform in the shape of the cross, surrounded by the flags of the nations. I knew in that moment I was truly yielded to the unknown possibilities, realizing I had no idea where Christ would lead us. The only thing that mattered in that moment is the confidence in knowing I am His and my soul is completely free to do what He placed me on the earth to do.
This journey of living the yielded life in Christ is not about us—it’s all about Him. Our failures and brokenness do not determine whether or not God will use us for His glory. In fact, the more broken the vessel is, the more Christ’s Holy Spirit can flow through us.
Wrong mindsets say our flaws disqualify us from being used by God, but the Holy Spirit says: Broken people make the best examples of the wonder-working power of God.
Last year, Christ embedded it into my heart that only His opinion matters. Christ freed my soul completely from fear of anyone’s opinions of me.
So here I am, a fifty-three-year-old woman, ready for new adventures and ready to be the most faithful witness for Christ that I can be. After this life is over, I cannot imagine a greater reward than hearing Christ say: “Well done, MY good and faithful servant.”
What about you? Are you ready to say, “YES” to whatever Christ has for your life? God is ready to take full responsibility for the life of the ones fully surrendered to Him. A yielded heart is one of the keys to true contentment. When we are yielded to Christ’s will for us, He is faithful to chisel away the sins in our hearts and lead us to the new beginnings in store for us.
Life will not be perfect until Christ’s return, but it is deeply fulfilling within our souls when we simply lay everything down and quit trying to figure things out. Let’s live totally yielded to Christ in 2019 and do the things on His agenda for our lives.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for filling us with Your Holy Spirit and leading us with Your guiding voice. Please help us to surrender every part of our lives to You and let us walk by Your Spirit. Let us seek You wholeheartedly and live for You with a singleness of heart. We lay aside all of our selfish ambitions and yield ourselves to You completely. Let us keep You as our highest priority every day. Help us to live each moment guided by Your Holy Spirit so that we can make a difference in the world. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
“Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.”
May the grace and peace of our Lord be with you.
Amy
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