Real freedom isn’t saying yes to everything, it means being able to say no when you need to.
No to the things that sabotage your peace.
No to the things that undercut your strength.
No to the thoughts that lead you to that dark place.
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,”
Titus 2:11-13 NIV
It also means saying no to people.
Saying “no” can be hard to say when you have used “yes” for so long to please the people around you but you are not here to please the people around you, you are set free to please God.
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Galatians 1:10 NIV
Saying yes to God sometimes means saying no to others.
Say no today out of a place of strength, vision and confidence knowing who you are in Christ.
What or who do you need to say no to today in order to be who God has set you free to be?
“So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time”.
James 4:7 MSG
Don’t underestimate the power of a quiet yes.
A quiet yes spoken with conviction.
A quiet yes whispered in surrender.
A quiet yes of obedience to make a 180 degree turn around in your life.
A quiet yes when He asks you to not settle for good when Jesus wants great things for you.
A quiet yes, because Jesus hears you even if you whisper.
A loud NO, because the enemy doesn’t.
The temptation to listen to lies of the enemy is strong because he is talking to you all the time and telling you the lies you already believe.
Today is your day to shout:
“No, I won’t settle for less”.
“No, I won’t quit”.
“No, I will not shrink back, I will push forward”.
Real freedom isn’t saying yes to everything. It means being able to say no when you need to.
No to the things that sabitoge your peace.
No to the things that undercutt your strength.
No to the thoughts that lead you to that dark place.
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,”
Titus 2:11-13 NIV
It also means saying no to people .
Saying “no” can be hard to say when you have used “yes” for so long to please the people around you.
But you are not here to please the people around you. You have been set free to please God.
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Galatians 1:10 NIV
Saying yes to God sometimes means saying no to others.
Say no today out of a place of strength, vision and confidence knowing who you are in Christ.
What or who do you need to say no to today in order to be who God has set you free to be?
but having the power to say yes to the things that give you life
and no to the things that suck the life out of you.
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, (Titus 2:11-13 NIV)
What so you need God’s grace to give you the power to say no to today?
I was flipping through the channels and stopped when I got to the movie “Yes Man”. It is a comedy about a man who makes a promise to say yes to everything, literally, and how that changes his life. As he says yes to everything, he realizes that his life is opening up to new experiences and relationships. Not all of them good, but it gets him out of the rut he was in as he shakes the cuffs of fear that had begun to shackle all of his choices.
I didn’t watch the whole movie and am not recommending it here except to encourage you to say yes.
We often live our lives in the domain of “no” and apply it even to our relationship with God.
Obeying God is one of the single most powerful things we can apply to our lives.
It leads to transformation and freedom.
It is all about saying yes to God.
Disobedience is essentially saying no to God.
The big “No’s” will plateau your life, the little “no’s” will erode it.
You will discover and walk in God’s will for your life when you say yes.
What do you need to say yes to?
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, (Colossians 1:9 NIV)
Maybe, you need to say yes again.
Mondays are a great day to start over and walk in new and old yes’s.
Cindy Grasso 