Tell God “Yes” and Don’t Hesitate
God speaks to us through the Bible, through his Holy Spirit, and through others—be it people or angels or even circumstances.
When God tells you to do something, what’s your first response? Do you give him an immediate “yes” or an excuse? An excuse could be telling him you’re too busy or not qualified or too scared to act. It could be asking how or when or why.
Yet anything short of saying “yes” is disobedience. At best it’s delayed obedience.
Consider the responses of some of these well-known biblical characters to God’s call on their lives.
Moses
Moses is one of the stars of the Old Testament. He secured the release of God’s chosen people from their slavery in Egypt and brought them to the promised land.
He successfully countered opposition from without and from within. With one minor exception, he faithfully served and obeyed God.
Yet Moses’s initial reaction to God’s call on his life is an excuse that he isn’t qualified to be God’s spokesman. He says he was never eloquent and is slow in speech and tongue (Exodus 4:10). He begs God to send someone else.
God is angry at Moses for his excuse. The Lord sends Moses’s brother Aaron to help him. The plan is for Moses to tell Aaron and for Aaron to tell everyone else (Exodus 4:1-16).
Gideon
Consider the judge Gideon who led God’s people to an impressive rout over a significant larger army of oppressors. Gideon moved forward in confident expectation and realized a victory through God’s amazing power.
Yet Gideon’s response to God’s call is an excuse that he isn’t up to the task. He claims his clan is the weakest in his tribe and he’s the least important person in his family (Judges 6:15). In short, he tells God, “I’m a nobody.”
When God’s angel first comes to Gideon, he’s threshing wheat in a wine press. He’s doing this out of fear that someone would see him and steal his grain.
Not only does this show his timidity, it would also have been a difficult and time-consuming approach to accomplish an otherwise simple task.
When Gideon questions God, he puts God to a test using dew and fleece. But once is not good enough for Gideon. He does it twice. This exposes his cowardice and reveals a lack of faith (Judges 6:11-40).
Jeremiah
When God calls the prophet Jeremiah to be his spokesman, the prophet’s excuse is that he doesn’t know how to speak and is too young (Jeremiah 1:6).
This occurs after God tells Jeremiah that this was his plan from before his conception, to be a prophet to the nations. Then God touches Jeremiah’s mouth and says, “I have put my words in you” (Jeremiah 1:4-10). At last Jeremiah obeys.
Zechariah
When an angel of God comes to the aged and childless Zechariah to tell him that he and his equally old wife will have a son, Zechariah doesn’t believe the heavenly messenger. He asks, “How can this be? We’re too old,” (Luke 1:18).
Zechariah says this despite the fact that he had been praying for a child. Yet he doubts God’s ability to hear and answer his prayers.
As punishment for his disbelief, God removes Zechariah’s ability to speak until the promised son is born. The boy’s name will be John, as in John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-25).
Mary
Whereas Zechariah and his wife are too old to have children, Mary is on the other end of the age spectrum. She’s a virgin and questions the angel’s proclamation that she will give birth to a son (Luke 1:34).
It’s a realistic question, which any reasonable person would ask.
To Mary’s credit, however, once the angel explains that the Holy Spirit will supernaturally impregnate her, she doesn’t object or question this. She humbly says, “I’m the Lord servant. May what you say happen,” (Luke 1:26-38).
Though Mary has a moment of initial doubt, we commend her for her respectful acceptance of God’s plan for her life.
Isaiah
Consider the prophet Isaiah. When God asks for someone—for anyone—to go as his messenger, Isaiah’s immediate and unhesitant response is, “Send me! (Isaiah 6:8).
Yet just before the prophet’s bold proclamation, we see Isaiah trembling over the vision of angels in heaven praising God as holy, holy, holy.
Overwhelmed, Isaiah realizes his sinful nature and inadequacies, crying out to God. An angel touches Isaiah’s lips with a live coal from the altar, to take away his sins and atone for his guilt.
Now Isaiah is ready to hear God’s call and respond with enthusiasm (Isaiah 6:1-8).
No Excuses
May we be like Isaiah, giving God an unrestrained “Send me!” instead of an excuse. May we be like Mary and humbly accept God’s plan for our life, even if it’s unexpected and confusing.
May we tell God, “Yes.”
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.
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