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Say Yes To God
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Say Yes To God
In Carmel, California, I was having lunch with a friend, Kimberly. The tables were very close together so we had already met our neighbors. It was Sunday and Kimberly and I had visited a church that morning.
Kimberly is a young Christian woman who is serving our country in the military. She is stationed in Monterey, California. After 9/11, Kimberly felt called to serve. Thank God for our country's servants. She is looking for the right church and we were discussing the church we visited.
The couple next us joined our conversation and I told them about my journey. The wife, Cheri, had lived in my hometown, Jacksonville, Florida. She knew just where my home was.
She said that I absolutely had to attend a Mass at Carmelite Monastery. There was a Mass at 8:00 AM the next morning and she assured me it would be unlike anything I had ever experienced.
I hesitated because I had other plans. She offered to go with me. I accepted.
My plans were to drop Kimberly off at the military base and to head for Merced, California.
Merced is 80 miles from Yosemite National Park. That was my next destination. Merced also has a Sears Automotive Center that installs both new tires and new starters. I needed both.
The rest of my plan was to spend the night in Merced, have my car fixed the following day, and head to Yosemite.
I briefly thought about telling Cheri no. I remembered this was God's journey. I knew God and Cheri were issuing the invitation and it was my choice to say yes or no.
Cheri met me at my hotel the next morning and I followed her along beautiful Pacific Coast Highway to the Monastery.
I was so blessed. The Monastery is beautiful. The well-kept garden backed by the ocean is breath taking. There are pictures on the website.
The nuns at the monastery sing throughout the service in a perfect unaccompanied unison. They sang from behind a screen. Cheri says they sound like Angels and I agree. I was in tears before I had been there 10 minutes.
The priest was inspiring. He talked about the difference between our plan and God's plan. He encouraged us to know God's plans and to follow them. He talked about the difference between God's plan and Adam and Eve's plan for the Garden of Eden. Man's plan didn't work out very well.
He talked about the importance of making time to follow God's plan. I thought about my plan to spend the morning at Sears. God's plan was better.
Has God issued an invitation to you today?
He may have issued it in the form of an intriguing invitation from a friend. This is probably the very same invitation that you think you are too busy to accept. God's invitations often come when we are the busiest. Satan will use our sense of responsibility to keep us from saying yes to God. Say yes even if you feel a little irresponsible.
It may have been in the form of that dream that you have always wanted to follow. Do you wonder if it is just "Castles In the Sky" instead of the voice of God? Oswald Chambers says that we always have visions before something is made real. He says that is the time when we are most vulnerable to doubt cast by Satan. If you have ever had the vision of God, you may try but you will be satisfied with nothing else. Say yes and follow the vision.
His invitation may be in the form of something that seems like too much work. It is exhausting to say no to God. Give in. Say yes. You will be blessed.
You may think the invitation is too hard. You doubt your ability to do it. All things are possible with God. Say yes.
The service emphasized the Holiness of God and was filled with silence. I love silence in a worship service. Have you been silent before God today? God speaks through the silence. Listen so you will know what to say yes to.
We kneeled for prayer. We stood for prayers. We said prayers together. We prayed silently. Have you prayed today?
One of my favorite prayers is the Lord's Prayer. It was part of the service. As we said it together, Cheri took my hand and we raised our hands to God.
I invite you to pray it with me.
"Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." Matt 6:9-14 NKJV
How strange and intimate it was worshiping so deeply with a stranger. She may have been a stranger but she is also my sister in Christ. I thought of my girlfriend who had just met her adult sister for the very first time. It was a special and sweet moment for my friend. I was experiencing the same thing with Cheri. I had met a sister.
The priest ended his sermon with the following challenge:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:27 NIV
As you may know, this is the theme scripture for my trip. I was grateful that Cheri had loved her neighbor at lunch.
Cheri and I said goodbye. She has a brother in Jacksonville and I hope to get to see her again on earth. I will see her again in heaven.
I traveled to Merced and my car was repaired by dinnertime. My plan is to go to Yosemite National Park next. I can't wait to find out what God's plan is.
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