But what happens when the answer is “Yes, Lord, I will receive that from you. Yes, Lord, I will take that”? These responses seem more difficult to say. They carry more weight, and are filled with humility. This is especially true when it’s a health challenge, or a sudden loss, or tragedy. Saying “Yes, Lord, I will receive that,” is HARD!
Recently, we have had to say, “Yes, Lord” a lot in our household. And not the former response we were used to. Like when God called us into the full-time ministry, or to reach out to the inner-city community or when he asked us, as single professionals, to be Christian missionaries in a Middle Eastern country. Those were times when “Yes, Lord,” was said with conviction and power and strength! Those were awesome times!
In recent days, God has brought some surprise packages to our doorsteps, and quite honestly, I haven’t been excited about opening and “receiving” his deliveries. Many of us understand all too well that when Fate shows up at your door, she doesn’t ring twice. Fate doesn’t call ahead of time to say, ”Hey, I will be giving you a surprise visit next Thursday, so be ready to receive me.” Nope, Fate just shows up and whether we like it or not, we all have to sign off on the package and “recieve it.” Yes, Lord, I got the gift you sent me.
Before you stone me for writing the word “gift,” consider these verses from Bible:
Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. -- 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (MSG)
From what we read it seems like Paul had a few surprise deliveries he wasn’t planning on receiving. In fact they were so heavy that the amazing, powerful apostle Paul begged God three times to “return to sender” and render the package “undeliverable.” But God said "Nope, that’s my 'gift' to you, Paul Candice Fathi. You have to keep it. There is no ‘return to sender’. You have a choice. You can say, 'I don’t want this,' but it’s your package. You cannot change that or stamp it ‘undeliverable’."
I can either fight and not open the door or leave the package outside and try to ignore it, and pretend like I don’t see it. Or I can humbly say “Yes, Lord, I will take that from you.”
I dont know what you are going through. The “gift” for you may be unexpected unemployment, or health challenges, or chronic illness or recently tragedy or loss of a loved one. My prayer for us is that we, like Paul, will grow in our depth of love and trust in the Lord. That we can look at whatever our handicaps maybe and say, I may not have expected this package but I trust I know the sender. I know that everything he does is with his spirit of love and goodness for all of mankind.
Therefore, “Yes, Lord, I will receive that from you.” And like Paul, we too will be able to gratefully say, “Thanks for the gift, Lord. It was nothing I expected but everything I needed to keep me close to you, God."
If you found this article helpful and want to reach Candice J. Fathi click here: https://candicejoel.wordpress.com
