Photo by Jeremy Perkins on Unsplash
As writers, we continually investigate the nuances of words. If we choose one word, it may tweak our meaning a little too much in the wrong direction. So we search for the specific term to capture the essence of our message. It’s a journey we relish, rejoicing when we land on that just right word.
Along those lines, I find myself exploring the nuances of the synonyms “yield” and “acquiesce”. Other terms belonging in this family include “submit” “consent” “agree” “comply” “accept” “assent” “concede.” If I ordered these synonyms according to connotation, I would order them like this: acquiesce, concede, comply, submit, accept, assent, yield. Can you see how the connotation of meaning moves from a more negative “giving in” to a more positive “watchful anticipation”?
So it is with the words we choose to describe our journey in understanding God’s ways. Let’s admit it: Our Sovereign Lord is difficult to comprehend fully. He designed it that way because such knowledge is too wonderful for us, and we are incapable of attaining to it (see Psalm 139:6).
During this pandemic (COVID 19) season, I’ve sought the Lord for a greater understanding of His ways. In doing so, I’ve thought and prayed a lot about His sovereignty. I’ve read Job 38 over and over, reminding myself that God basically called Job out on his frail and limited understanding. That’s me, too! I am frail and I do not understand, God.
I suspect you can relate to this confused yearning.
Certainly, Job 38 always brings me back to one of the most powerful words of all: trust. If we added the word “trust” to the above continuum, we’d need to fill in a few more terms before we progressed toward the majesty of meaning the word trust holds, wouldn’t we? But in the end, trust is what is needed, and yielding is the way to reach that ideal.
So, let’s focus on yielding. In yielding to God’s ways, we don’t simply acquiesce, feeling helpless and hopeless like pawns in a chess game. Neither do we begrudgingly concede or comply, betraying an unwillingness to realize the good in God’s plan. What we DO attempt is to move from submitting to accepting (even assenting), finally landing on the beauty of the act of YIELDING.
In yielding, we say, “Yes” to God. We rest on His goodness, never condemning ourselves for not fully understanding His ways. Like Job, we are enlightened to a new knowledge that the Creator of the universe can hold back the ocean waves or send them in like a tsunami. We marvel at the truth that our Sovereign Lord could easily add one more planet or sun in the sky if He chose to. We are humbled to realize that our Mighty Redeemer can and will call truth and justice into being, and that our Wonderful Counsellor continually reaches to the depths of every soul to heal wounds and transform thinking.
And when we anticipate the goodness of God in every facet and circumstance of life, we find that yielding is far more than a caution to simply stop and look. Yielding is the pathway to trust.
