Yielding

” Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21

About a week and a half ago, I was out walking my 7 pound Yorkshire Terrier, Miles, on a long lake walk. Almost every single morning, afternoon and evening when we take off for our usual stroll, Miles immediately will stop and lean in the direction of his choice, digging his paws into the pavement, until I go the way he wants to go. Stubborn little bugger.

It is such a perfect visual of how my relationship with the Lord is some days. He is nudging me in one direction, while I keep leaning and pulling in another direction. You too? This particular day, as Miles and I headed towards Lake Ivanhoe, I was insisting on keeping our little walk on the land side along the sidewalk. But Miles, all 7 pounds of him, kept pulling me towards to lake. The lake side has a lot more dog smells from his neighborhood friends. But I kept yanking him back to the safety of the sidewalk… until finally, I gave in.

No sooner than we had crossed the street and taken about 8 steps a HUGE BRANCH (I mean...HUGE!!) came crashing to the ground directly in the spot where we had been standing. If I had not given in to this little stubborn pooch, we would have both been crushed. I nearly jumped out of my skin, laughed out loud (I think I was in shock) and immediately praised the Lord for His protection.

How many times have I found myself in dangers way, because I did not yield to the voice of The One who has my best interest at heart? This Scripture above I’ve chosen from Isaiah to memorize this week is a reminder to this stubborn heart, to LISTEN more intently to the voice and gentle nudging of the Lord behind me telling me which way to go. More often than not, it's my own pride and self-centered heart that needs some humbling to get me walking in the direction and will of the Lord.

When we got home later that afternoon, I gave Miles a treat and crowned him My Hero!

Can you relate to the stubbornness I sometimes struggle with? Do you find yourself in compromising situations, relationships, financial struggles, or dead end roads over and over again?  Perhaps we all  need a"gentle reminder" to LISTEN more intently to the Voice of the Lord behind us saying.this is the way..and then to move with it!

Buy this house....don't buy that one....stay in this relationship....get out of that one....stop spending money.....save, save, save.....let go of clutter....be content....take this job.....don't take that one...stop "doing" so much, and just "Be"...and on and on and on. Can I get an Amen?

The past month I've been working with a client to help clean out his mothers estate.
She has been in an Alzheimer's facility the past 4 months and her husband had previously passed away. The family is ready to purge, share and donate her things and sell her home. However, the process to go from digging out to actually selling is taking months. To say hoarding is a problem is an understatement. This sweet woman, with all the blessings she had and the love she felt, had a real stronghold for "things" and shopping and collecting. Many many things with tags still on them. We have found numerous (too many to count) notes she wrote to the Lord as prayers, or to herself in her journal screaming for help to stop the madness of all the stuff she was buried under. Her husband was not aware of her struggle, her family enabled the situation, and so she kept on ignoring the gentle nudges from the Lord to make a change. For years she could not even enjoy what she had, because she didn't know what she had. She was crying out and crying out, but she wasn't listening to His Voice and taking the steps necessary to move in the direction of freedom.

Whatever your situation may be today, I am certain of one thing (as I have learned over and over the hard way some days and the right way some days), the more we know The One we follow, the easier it is to hear His Voice behind us saying...

..." This is the way; walk in it."

Just a gentle reminder to all of us, to spend the FIRST moments of our days this summer (and every day), learning from, listening to, yielding to and moving with The One that knows the way we should take!

And guess what? When you yield...you may avoid a huge branch from falling on your head.
Thank you Jesus for your grace and your gentle shoves in the right direction.

Listening. Yielding. And moving with His Spirit.

Joyful Summer to you all!