Yes!

When God calls us, we know our answer should always be “yes.” However, at certain times it’s easier to say “yes” than at others! For instance, God has called me to be a father, but I’ve learned that some parental responsibilities are more enjoyable than others. It’s easy to say “yes” to holding our one-year-old when he’s happy and giggly, but it’s a little harder to say “yes” to feeding him in the middle of the night! However, as parents we can’t pick and choose which responsibilities we’ll say “yes” to and which ones we will not. We have to say “yes” to them all! It’s the same way with any call of God. There will always be some degree of sacrifice required, but no matter the cost, our answer should always be “yes.”

The apostle Paul told the Corinthian church, “My yes means yes because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never wavers between yes and no” (2 Cor. 1:18, NLT). Paul was declaring that when he said “yes,” he meant it! He wasn’t going to say “yes” when things were going well but “no” when things started getting tough. He said “yes” to it all. Whether he was working miracles or facing persecution, his yes meant yes!

Paul drew his inspiration from Jesus Himself, who definitely demonstrated that His yes meant yes when He went all the way to the cross for us! The Bible tells us that “for the joy set before him he endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2, NIV). The reward of our salvation was so great to Him, He said “yes” even to paying the ultimate sacrifice! While we’ll never have to pay a sacrifice so great, there is a cost to serving God. Jesus told His disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24, NIV).

There is an interesting account in the book of 2 Samuel that illustrates what it means to pay a price for the call of God. King David had planned to buy a certain threshing floor so he could build an altar in that spot and make sacrifices to the Lord. When David made his offer to buy, the owner surprisingly told David he would like to give the land to the king at no cost. However, David responded, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2 Sam. 24:24, NIV).

Serving God will cost you something. It may be time, money, friends, prestige, or popularity, but there will be a cost. However, instead of viewing those sacrifices as burdens, we should offer them as gifts to God like King David did … and we should give Him our best! Paul encourages, “Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ (Col. 3:23-34, NLT). When you give everything you do as an offering to God, even those unpleasant responsibilities, He will honor your sacrifice and give you a great reward in return. So, when you’re tempted to say “no” to the call of God, just keep saying “yes.” You’ll be glad you did!