What Happens When Women Say Yes to God
Wrap-up
God wants His people to live to say yes to Him.
God's will is all about how He wants us to be. What we are supposed to do will unfold from there.
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess. 5:16-18 NIV)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers (and sisters), whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything – James 1:2-4 NIV
"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace removed, says the
Lord, who has compassion on you" (Isaiah 54:10 NIV)
Pray continually.
- God says, "Just be with Me." (Psalm 46:10)
- Every day, moment by moment, we can pray, "God I want to see You. I need to hear You. I need Your truth. I need to know You right now. Help me say yes and follow hard after You even in this situation."
- Recognize what God has already done.
- Sometimes when we have too many blessings, we forget to be thankful.
If we want to be unusual – different, holy, and set apart for an amazing work of the Lord – we must be joyful, prayerful, and thankful every day.
Life is like making a cake.
- It takes all different kinds of ingredients to make a life – dry times, sweet times , and yucky times.
- We say to Jesus, "I am going to trust You and be a woman who says yes to God no matter what kind of time I'm going through"
The good news is that God's will is not a mystery. We can move closer to the center of His will every day by becoming women steeped in joy, prayer, and gratitude.
God's will is all about how God wants us to be. When we are the kind of person who determines to be in the center of God's will, what we are supposed to do will unfold from there.
The apostle Paul describes three key components of becoming the kind of people God wants us to become: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess. 5:16-18 NIV)Hard times are not the time to push the pause button on this great adventure with God…We can find joy in the midst of our circumstances. This is God's will for His people who want to live with a yes-heart.
It may be surprising to think of joy as something we experience in the absence of trials but in the midst of them. Bust some Bible scholars believe it's actually impossible to experience true joy any other way. In difficult times, we can experience joy by saying "a defiant Nevertheless."
I am struggling; nevertheless, God is good to me. I am hurting; nevertheless, I know God loves me. I am confused; nevertheless, I know Go is with me.
Every difficulty is an opportunity to practice joy, to say a resounding 'nevertheless."
The apostle James affirms the connection between joy and suffering:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers (and sisters), whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything – James 1:2-4 NIV
Prayer isn't something (for which) we have to sit down and find all the official words and do it just right. God says, "Just be with Me." …It is an everyday conversation.God accepts every expression of gratitude, but He loves to know that His gifts are noticed and appreciated just as we do. One way to do this is to "get small" – to focus on the everyday gifts and graces we sometimes take for granted.
Take a few minutes and "get small" with your gratitude.
- Things I am grateful for within the last week…
- Things I am grateful for within the last 24 hours…
- Things I am grateful for within the last hour…
- Things I am grateful for this very moment…
Week 5 includes links to the previous weeks of this study.
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