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- Written by: Don Goulding
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us - by me and Silvanus and Timothy - was not “Yes” and “No,” but it has always been “Yes” in him. For every one of God’s promises are “Yes” in him… (2 Corinthians 1:19, 20)
God asked man to love him above all else. Man said no. That no reverberated through time into every crevice of life.
Is nature healthy? No. Will you live forever? No. Are you whole without God? No.
No is the most devastating word in any language. It condemns us to suffer for eternity.
Jesus came so that everyone living in the world might have a second chance at God’s question. “Through my Son will you love me above all else?”
When we say yes, anything a purified imagination dreams is granted with a laughing, almighty yes. God, do you love me? Yes. Do you forgive me? Yes. Are you with me? Yes.
Say yes to God through Christ, and he will say yes to you through eternity. It sounds easy, but this world slams noes into our face with such frequency that we lose hope in the word yes. Rejection is a no. Loss of health and income are more noes. The noes pile up until it’s difficult to see a yes right in front of us.
God’s yes resounds, it knocks down our heap of noes. But He doesn’t merely remove our noes, he converts them into yeses. As we hand each no to him, trusting in his recompense, he redeems them to yeses of eternal reward. Such is his mighty power over every no.
In Christ, life is yes. Yes, yes, and forever yes.
Prayer: Father in heaven, I rest in your yes.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
Whom do I have in heaven but you?
I desire no one but you on earth. (Psalms 73:25)
Desire is a gun fired grappling hook. It defies the gravity of every obstacle, and cuts through space toward its target. The steel hook jerks the rope of my life forward in limp obedience.
If a sea turtle sets her desire on returning to the nesting grounds, or a moth to joining the light, they’ll either satisfy their desire or die in the attempt. I may be more subtle but, when it comes to desire, I’m the same.
My error was never in the strength of my desire, it was in my choice of targets. I was duped into aiming for temporal goals—those pleasures that are, by definition, incapable of giving lasting fulfillment. Now I want to aim my scope at an eternal target. This time I’ll align the crosshairs on ultimate satisfaction—on Jesus.
Flying through life, I find my hook is subject to gusts of distraction and the gravity of discouragement. Landing on Jesus becomes an outlandish ambition. The only way I can hit my target is if my desire has enough weight and a fine enough point. It must fly white-hot.
With the correct bearing, desire is no longer a shamed urging, rather, it’s blessed by the one who gave it. So I’ll not hold back. I’ll allow desire to pull me in desperate urgency. Go ahead, desire, and pierce all other pursuits. Soar with fervor toward the beat of your heart, even to Jesus the perfect one for whom you burn.
Prayer: Jesus, I desire nothing in this world but you.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live! (Deuteronomy 30:19)
A South Pacific rendition of Amazing Grace flew loops inside my chest. Dancers swayed, and their fingers circled then sprang open, until all palms reached in supplication. The worship dance was elegant, emotion filled worship.
But union with God isn’t based on an emotional feeling.
When I was still thirtysomething, I devoured research about the historical validity of the New Testament. My knowledge lifted me out of the flatlands and into alpine spires. Datable fragments, textual validation, and historical confirmation towered about me. But acceptance from God isn’t based on intellectual conviction.
Emotion is a butterfly that lands for a moment and then flits away. Intellect is stone for anchoring as much as it is for drowning. Many academics are pulled down to self-reliant doom. What I need, what is required, is volition.
A volitional life duly considers options, decides, then takes action. My volition is my will, my decider. Emotion and intellect have consultations with volition, but volition is in charge of destiny.
I exercise volition when I act on my choice to receive forgiveness and journey with Christ. If my choice is based on emotion or intellect, then when my feelings or focus change, I’ll abandon conversion. But a volitional choice brings growth until the end.
The ability to act volitionally is what sets me apart from the animal kingdom. I’m gifted with a bit of sacred volition because I’m made in God’s image. My daily act of worship, then, is to decidedly admit my sin and order my life around God’s mercy.
Prayer: Mighty God, this day, I choose life, I choose forgiveness, I choose you.