The word ‘yes’ is one of the most powerful words in the world other than Jesus’ name. I never thought this simple word can be life altering. In this three letter word you can learn a lot about a person (who they are, what they believe in, their priorities, etc). ‘Yes’ has the power to change not only your own life but other people’s lives too. You can tell how strong someone is in their faith and how much they trust or believe in God by how they respond to the Lord. Those who trust God even a little bit will say ‘yes’ to things that are out of their comfort zones.
This is exactly what happened to me! I never understood the power one ‘yes’ could have until I started to say ‘yes’ to God and what He has called me to do. All of the best memories that I have ever had were because I said ‘yes’ to things I normally wouldn’t say yes too. I’ve been realizing that the word ‘yes’ is a surrender to the Lord. It is communicating to the Lord that you are going to stop trying to do your own thing and instead rely on Him by following the path He has called you to. ‘Yes’ is more than just a word; it’s who we are and who God is too.
My first experience so far on the race with saying ‘yes’ happened last week. On Monday of last week we went to the temple for something called monk chat. Monk chat is a certain time when we go to the temple, sit down, and talk with the monks there. Some monks are there for a couple months, others a couple years, and many more are there for a longer period of time. Thai men become a monk for different reasons too. Actually, one monk that we met went to the monastery to be a monk solely to get free education. We talked to a lot of monks who were 18 and 19 years old. To be honest, I didn’t want to go. I was terrified!! It’s very intimidating to walk into a monastery made of gold and sit and talk to monks about Jesus. As much as I wanted to say ‘no’ I decided to say ‘yes’. That one ‘yes’ was something I was so thankful I said yes to. I had the opportunity to not only talk to one monk but to three monks and an elderly couple that worked in one of the smaller temples. I got to just sit with them and hear about their lives, hobbies, their religion (Buddhism), what they do at the monastery, etc. It was so interesting to me to hear about what they believe and why they believe it. Just talking to them made me realize that they are real people with real feelings too and I didn’t have to be intimidated by them! The monks even told us how hard it is for them to leave their families so they cried! The fact that they told us this was a big deal since in Thailand the culture is all about not showing any emotions besides happiness. The fact that they were able to be vulnerable with us was a HUGE deal! Another really big thing was that the monks wanted to take a picture with us but our group was a group of ALL girls. It’s a rule that monks are not supposed to touch or come close to women since they are considered unclean. But….these monks took pictures with us, were telling jokes in English to us, laughing, etc! In that moment I just stopped to thank the Lord for this encounter and the start of a beautiful relationship with these Buddhist monks. I then asked God “Lord, how can I bless your people today?” That’s when the Lord prompted me to write their names in cursive. I did exactly what the Lord put on my heart (again another ‘yes’) and I got to see them burst with joy. They kept saying how beautiful the cursive was, taking pictures with it, showing their friends, and they even kept it in their notebooks/journals. I remember leaving that place with a heart full of love and compassion.
You see one simple ‘yes’ can make a difference. One simple ‘yes’ can create a relationship. And one simple ‘yes’ can change someone’s life. I’m so glad I said ‘yes’! It’s probably one of the best encounters I have had here so far and I’ve only been here for a little more than a week!! I left that temple finally understanding why the Lord loved being in the temple with the Pharisees. Friends, this is God’s heart and God’s heart is glorious!!!
