Just Say Yes
In the introduction to Just Say Yes, I mentioned that I was 11 when I first surrendered to God’s call to missions service. But years before, I had an experience with God that cemented a desire in my heart to serve Him. That experience prepared me to hear His voice when His call to work in Africa came.
I grew up in a family that would attend church on special occasions, but God wasn’t front and center for us. That changed when one of my aunts came to know Jesus. When she and her family came from Florida to visit our family in New Jersey, she introduced me to Him. I’ve never regretted choosing to just say yes to Jesus, as it has led me into God’s will, which is the safest place to be.
A few years later, our whole family came to the Lord and moved to Florida. The church we attended held a series of meetings. I don’t remember the theme of the meetings. All I remember is the intensity of God’s presence. Even when I was at school, all I could think of was what was going to happen in church later that evening.
Then, one afternoon, when those meetings were taking place, I was home with my family. I was in my room praying, and I had a vision. In this vision, I saw a map of the African continent. I observed that the continent was filled with points of light. Those points first shone alone. Then I saw each point connect to another; it resembled a “connect the dots” worksheet. I saw the whole continent light up in front of me. At that moment, I knew God’s call for me would catapult me to Africa. I didn’t know how, when, or where. I only knew I would go.
Looking back, I now understand that there is a process to just say yes to God’s call:
- Surrendering our lives to Jesus as Savior is the first and best step.
- Then surrendering to His will is letting go of our will, sometimes daily, in the face of His.
- Finally, surrendering to the unfolding of His will daily. As with the second step, this part of the process is ongoing.
The first step of surrender
Before we can be called to do anything for God, we must surrender our lives to Him. We need to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. This is front and center. Everyone needs to just say yes to a Savior (see Romans 3:23). What will our work for His Kingdom amount to besides knowing Him? Service apart from salvation is just a good work. It isn’t born out of surrender. It is born from just wanting to do something good. Doing good is not bad, don’t get me wrong. But doing good apart from a life surrendered to Jesus has no eternal reward. The rewards for good works alone are found here on earth. They don’t translate into heavenly currency.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Luke 6:32-36 (NKJV)
Our efforts without God are void of eternal meaning; we need Him to breathe life into us. When we serve Him out of a heart surrendered to His will, our rewards are transformed from earthly to heavenly.
God sent His Son to the world out of His great love for us (see John 3:16) and has made a way for us to become part of His family. We are born into His family when we receive Him into our hearts (see Romans 12:1,2). Once we know Him, He charges us to “go and tell” the world (see Mark 16:15). This call to go is universal. We must all go where we are and tell people the good news. Let’s go and let everyone know what a wonderful Father we have.
The second step of surrender
After we receive Jesus as Lord, we must surrender our lives to God’s will. There is a difference between surrendering our lives to Jesus as Lord and just say yes to surrendering our lives to His will.
Surrendering our lives to His will can be tricky. When I handed my life over to God’s will at 11, I didn’t fully grasp what that meant. There are still times when I wonder if I can fully understand what it means to surrender. Like all of us, I am a work in progress!
I know that there are stages of surrender in our lives. My first act of surrender was receiving Jesus. The second time I surrendered was when I said “yes” to missions.
After that experience, I thought only of mission service. When would it happen? What would I do? Our church sent some of the youth on a mission trip to Haiti. I saved all the money I could from my minimum wage job and set it aside for this trip. The trip to Haiti meant we had to fly on an airplane; it was only the second time I had flown. I was nervous, but more than nervous, I was thrilled to go. I wanted to go somewhere and taste what I knew would be my future.
The trip did not disappoint. We landed at the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. There was no order. Passengers amassed around the baggage carousels, which creaked loudly in protest under the weight of all the suitcases. That day, I learned I would never get my luggage if I stood back politely. It was a bit unnerving, but I wasn’t discouraged. I began going through the crowd like I knew what I was doing.
There was no air conditioning in the terminal. It was hot, loud, and a general mess. I held on to my bags and followed our group to the vehicle to take us to our destination. On our way, I took in the sights. Chickens, goats, dogs, and people filled the streets. Strange smells assaulted my senses. As odd as the sights were, the sounds that were foreign to me filled the surroundings, and I felt strangely at ease while slightly panicked. Vehicles (including ours) blasted their horns, people shouted, dogs barked, chickens cackled, and I whimpered quietly. What a strange place it was!
We arrived at our destination, an orphanage overseen by American missionaries. I had to share a room with a few friends, which was fine by me. I was feeling culture-shocked. I made my bed on the unfinished concrete floor of our room at the orphanage with a blanket and a sheet. Like the rest of our group, I was tired in every way one could be tired. But once we had settled in, shock gave way to anticipation. What an adventure this was going to be!
Every day of that trip, I wondered what adventures I would have. I was all in every day, from attending church services to playing with the children at the orphanage. I found a place where I felt I fit, where I hoped my life could make a difference.
The trip was over too soon. We loaded ourselves into vehicles and began to make our way back to the airport. Suddenly, out of character for me, I couldn’t help but cry. I cried for the children we played with, the people I saw in church, and the masses walking on the streets as we drove. I cried because I wanted to stay. And I cried because I knew I would have to wait for God’s call to unfold.
The third step of surrender
I was painfully young when I first surrendered my life to God’s will. But my youth worked for me. When you’re young, change is easy. I was sure, for example, as I grew, that since I was going to be a missionary, I would be a nurse. I had seen firsthand in Haiti how medical professionals were needed in the developing world. What else could I do overseas besides medical work? I had seen the masses of hungry and sick children myself. They needed someone to care for them. So, I enrolled in nursing school.
I did well in my classes. I was a natural in many of the subjects. Besides a particular math class on ratios and proportions 😬, I did well in all of them. I failed the ratio and proportions class twice before finally passing it, but my instructors were kind. Many students failed that class several times before passing, but that’s not the point. I did pass on the third try and did very well in every other aspect. Doing well in school must have meant I was on track, right?
Not only did I do well in classes, but I also excelled in my practical training, where students worked under supervision in hospitals with patients. I was doing great and had a positive relationship with my supervisor until one day, when I chatted with a patient. This person, a middle-aged woman, seemed to enjoy my company. One sentence led to another, and I naturally told her about Jesus. I asked her if she wanted to pray. She declined but was very kind.
Later that day, before my shift ended, my supervisor called me in and reprimanded me for my conversation with the patient. She said I wasn’t allowed to talk about religion at all. I was a student nurse who was there to learn. I left that day feeling a bit deflated. While classes were going well, and I was good at practical training, I felt increasingly unfulfilled.
I was far from being on track. I was miserable. I had to just say yes to God’s will unfolding in His way.
Steps two and three to surrender came in stages
I had a hunger for God’s word, and it almost felt uncontrollable. When I drilled down and faced it, I knew my call to missions meant Bible training. A few years before enrolling in nursing school, I toyed with the idea of going to Bible school. But I thought my ideas were foolish. What can you do with a Bible degree? How would you earn money? It wasn’t a very logical choice.
So, I did what was logical. I pressed on through my nursing studies, growing increasingly restless by the hour. I tried to come to terms with what was stirring inside me. A flame had been lit inside me for studying the Bible that wouldn’t go out. I ultimately left nursing school without knowing how I would go to Bible school. But it was a step in the right direction.
As it turned out, I did go to Bible school and earned two degrees, a Bachelor’s in Christian Education and a Master’s in Christian Social Ministry. It didn’t happen right away, but it did happen. In retrospect, I can see that while trying to do the logical thing, God was faithfully pulling me in the direction He had for me. Getting that training took a lot of faith and patience, but I am so glad I did.
The third step continued to unfold
A few years passed during this process. In the interim, I married my husband Jamie (I had to say yes to him 😊), who was also in love with missions. He was an assistant pastor on staff at the church we attended. On the wall of his office was a large map of the world. He prayed daily for every nation in the world. When I think about that now, I realize that through prayer, God was setting the stage for our steps into Africa long before we went.
Prayer played (and still plays) a significant role in hearing God’s call. I’m not talking about before-a-meal prayer. I’m talking about purposeful prayer, which I’ll discuss in further detail later. But at this juncture of our lives, prayer played (and still plays) an irreplaceable role in hearing God’s voice.
An opportunity arose to visit Africa with another team from our church. We were approached by the team leaders, who asked if we were interested in going. Before we could blink an eye, we were on board. Suddenly, I found myself in a whirlwind of preparations. Things I didn’t know existed before became very important: passports, visas, overseas vaccines, plane tickets, and packing.
The excitement of this next step unfolding before us carried us through the unfamiliar territory. It didn’t stress us or even matter; we were going to Africa!
And we kept praying because we didn’t know where this would lead. Would this trip launch us out? Or would it be like our experience in Haiti? Was it just a trip to hold us over and keep the fire burning in our hearts? We didn’t know, but we gladly stepped into this part of the call, hoping for more to come.
Still on step three
Our first Africa trip came and went without much fanfare. No one got sick; our group ministered to 200 pastors and church leaders, and the trip ended. Although Africa is far from Haiti, where we were visiting at the time (Eldoret, Kenya), it was somewhat similar. The area was poor, and many were sick and hungry. A week after we arrived, we got back on the plane in Nairobi, Kenya, and flew home.
There was no thunderbolt moment. We landed, collected our luggage, and drove home. We prayed, agonized, and talked, but still had no new direction. Our everyday life resumed, and we wondered, “What was that all about?”
More unfolding
I’ve become comfortable with God unfolding His call before me in His timing. This step takes a lifetime to complete. But I wasn’t as patient back then when things started for us. At work, I felt impatient; at home, I was impatient; and even at church, I’d cry and ask God, “When?” It wasn’t a pretty sight. Jamie and I consoled one another occasionally; we both felt the call to “go.” God hadn’t told us where yet – so we waited.
Waiting is part of unfolding God’s will. His schedule runs differently from ours, and I imagine it has more to do with us than it does with Him. During this waiting time, Jamie had an opportunity to revisit Africa. He went to serve in Kalemie, Zaire, for two months. By then, our first son was only five months old. I felt uncomfortable taking him to Kalemie, which is far more remote than Eldoret, Kenya.
I was a first-time mom with a call. Talk about a whirlwind of emotions!
Jamie spent two months exploring the waters of Kalemie, Zaire. I wasn’t too pleased with the length of the trip. In his absence, I bounced between our parents’ homes. There was food and company to be had, but whenever I got home, the silence was heavy.
At the end of his trip, we returned to our everyday routines. Work, home, and church filled our plates with activity. But when would the call become clear? When were we going to go? The missionaries Jamie had visited told him the door was open for us to return as a family. But we had not heard that it was God’s time to go. We surrendered to the wait and set missions on the altar. Tired of being anxious, we let go and waited some more.
And then it became clear
Jamie was our church’s missions director. About five months had passed since his return from Africa, and another trip was set for Haiti. A church needed to be built, and Jamie was tasked with assembling a team of builders. I tagged along on this trip and helped as much as possible (which wasn’t very much). I was asked to speak at a women’s meeting. This was one of my first times speaking anywhere besides small groups at our home church. It felt very uncomfortable. I don’t even remember what I said. What I do know is that I was glad when it was over. But something inside me told me this wouldn’t be the last time I spoke publicly.
The building went very well. We were set to leave on Monday, and the team finished the job on the Sunday before we left. Entering the building was special to the congregation and us, and worship was sweet.
The village in Haiti where we served was off the main island. We had to ride a local boat whose seaworthiness was questionable to get there. I wasn’t happy to think about getting back on that boat. But it was the only way home, so I had no choice. We slept in tents on the beach, which were often visited by pigs looking for snacks. It wasn’t opulent, but something about this trip was special.
The noise of everyday life was gone. We had time to think and pray. Just before we left, Jamie and I sat on the beach one evening, musing about what else. Missions. The stirring had risen to the top again, and I looked at him and said, “I think it’s time we went to Zaire.”
And so, we heard that it was time. The waiting was over, and the next chapter was unfolding.
It was time to just say yes and jump in.
Not everyone will be happy
When you answer God’s call, whatever that might look like for you, not everyone will be happy. The reasons for this resistance vary. Families don’t want to see their loved ones move away. Others may wonder, “Why you? What can you do? You’re no one special.” There are many reasons. But you can be sure, no matter what the reason, you will face resistance when you surrender to God’s call. People will struggle, and their answers to send workers may come in the form of your going.
"But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
Matthew 9:36-38 (NKJV)
We were young, and our family was young, and we had little life experience. It was only natural for our families to worry about us, and we had to learn to process their well-meaning worry without betraying our call. It was difficult not to interpret their worry as rejection. But God gave us grace to deal with this first resistance because we would have to get used to being resisted and, at times, rejected for God’s call.
There is a fire, an irresistible compulsion, that accompanies the call. I believe that fire keeps us on track to fulfilling God’s call. When times get tough, when resistance and rejection are high, the fire of the call keeps us grounded and focused.
You’re invited to just say yes
There is nothing I would rather do than what I have done my whole life: obey God’s call. It has given me peace that is so deep I can’t explain it. Everything else pales in comparison. The call hasn’t led to a lucrative lifestyle or made me popular. Sometimes, it has been quite the opposite. It has given me deep relationships with key people in many countries worldwide. Answering God’s call has made my relationship with God more than just a Sunday greeting. My life’s melody is played in tandem with songs God Himself sings.
Obeying this call has not been easy. Still, my life’s melody is played alongside the song God Himself sings over His people. And if I am honest, there is nothing else I could do that would satisfy my soul. Perhaps that is the invitation God places before each of us: not to understand every step ahead, but to trust Him and just say yes.
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Recommended reading:
Kay Warren’s Say Yes to God: A Call to Courageous Surrender inspires readers to trust God fully and embrace the freedom of simply saying yes.
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