Great Commission Churches

September 2007

Dear Sisters,

Many busy days I think, "I don't know what to do next" or "...now where am I supposed to be and which child am I picking up now?" Thelma Clark shares in her article "The Safest Place" that I don't have to figure things out on my own. Whatever the day may hold, scheduled or not, I can yield to the Lord's gentle pulls and nudges, or to His reprimands, to go where He wants and do what pleases Him.

Hope your day finds you dwelling in Christ's presence, enjoying His Word!

Trusting in His guiding love,

Sandy

The Safest Place

By Thelma Clark, Prairie View Community Church, Parker, CO

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:20)."

As I began my day with the Lord a couple of weeks ago, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness for being able to "get in the yoke" with my God and let Him guide me through the day. What a safe place to be...yoked with the One who has unfailing love for me and whose knowledge and ability have no lacks! What a privilege to receive His gentle instructions throughout the day and be able to ask Him for counsel at any moment.

When my days were filled with caring for young children, God mightily used this verse to help me accept and tackle the myriad of situations a mother can encounter daily. Once when I was attempting to get everyone out the door, a pitcher of orange juice spilled on the kitchen floor. This verse enabled me to think: "Oh! The yoke is turning this direction--to the orange juice--not to the door quite yet." The Lord was (and is) working on my reactions, desiring to replace a frustrated, reactionary spirit with a gentler, accepting one. Learning to yield as if I were in a yoke with Him helped me see I wasn't a victim of circumstances, which made it easier to learn gracious responses.

Recently the Lord applied this verse to my heart in a couple of new ways. With Dennis gone, I was uncertain about a decision I needed to make concerning one of our teens. It was one of those gray areas with no exact right or wrong; and even though I didn't have many convincing reasons, I felt uneasy about it. While mulling it over, the Lord reminded me to look over to Him, the One I'm yoked with, and ask Him to lead in this. Instantly I knew the uneasy feeling was from Him, but now I needed to know how to explain my decision because I knew there would be initial resistance. The yoke concept came to my mind, and I knew this was the answer.

Later I shared with my teen that every day I get in the yoke with the Lord and want Him to be the "boss" and now, in this decision, even though I couldn't explain all the reasons, I needed to yield to the 'tugs' I felt He was giving. Seeing my own position of being under a higher authority seemed to help my teen yield more easily too.

The next application of the yoke came last month while riding in the car with both a driver-in-training and also an older child. At first I was amazed at all the great instruction being given to the trainee by the older. However, as it went on and on (concerning almost everything that was being done or not done), I began hoping that the younger would have the grace to stay teachable...hearing and accepting the instruction without getting defensive or upset. If only he would stay humble, he'd be a better driver for it all, even if it were a little over-kill.

All of a sudden I got an image of it being the Lord and I in that vehicle, or yoke. I wondered if I respond to each of His corrections and promptings in the teachable way I was hoping my son would respond; or do I defend and justify myself and therefore, not benefit like I could? This vivid picture has helped me want to be more responsive when I sense thoughts like: "Your speech was too strong there...your attitude isn't what it should be...being critical is always wrong...you should've responded willingly...grumbling never helps...put on a smile and serve...anger never brings about the righteousness of God." Oh, Lord, help me to respond: "Oh, OK!" or "You're right...thank you!" or "Thanks...will You help me?"

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me...." What a good place to be, even with His constant corrections. After all, I can be a better person for it!