Just Say Yes
Introduction
God gives us the vision, then He takes us into the valley to batter us into the shape of the vision. It is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way.”
Oswald Chambers
Following all the steps and answering the call of God on our lives sounds good on paper. It preaches well. It reads well.
But the practical work of answering that call, surrendering to the vision, and surrendering to how it unfolds is not a one-time decision. It is an ongoing process. This shaping work does not end quickly. In many ways, it continues throughout our lives.
Jacob stuggles from the start
Remember Jacob, the son of Isaac?
He was called by God, yet much of his life was marked by striving. Even before he was born, there was a struggle.
“And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her…”
Genesis 25:21-22a (NKJV)
Before Jacob ever grasped his brother’s heel, there was conflict in the womb.
Isaac and Rebekah had waited for children. Scripture tells us she was barren. Anyone who has walked through infertility understands the ache. It is painful to wait. Painful to watch others conceive easily. Even harder when children are born into homes that will not care for them, while those who long to love and raise a child struggle month after month.
What about me?
Waiting reveals what is in us. At this stage of God’s call, when we are waiting for the birth of what He has spoken, it can feel just as uncomfortable. We compare. We measure. We watch others move ahead.
We see doors opening for friends and colleagues and quietly ask, What about me?
I remember when I first sensed God’s call as a child. For years, I would swing between excitement and frustration, wondering why everything seemed to move so slowly. Looking back, I can see it wasn’t slow at all. I was simply impatient.
When Jamie and I married, we carried that impatience together, which made the waiting feel heavier. We both loved missions, but we did not know how to move from desire to direction. At that time, we had very little guidance. There was no clear path, no practical roadmap for getting from where we were to where our hearts longed to be, across the ocean.
We sought counsel from our church leaders. They were supportive and eventually gave Jamie oversight of the church’s missions department. In many ways, it was a gift. We gained access to missionary newsletters and reports from around the world. We read stories of obedience, sacrifice, and open doors.
But it also stirred something deeper. We did not want to simply read the reports. We wanted to be the ones to write them.
He knows the way we take
It is important to say here that God is faithful. He knows the road ahead. He is not guessing. The real question was never whether God would lead. The question was whether we would trust Him in the waiting.
Looking back, I can see that God was working in me long before my feet ever touched the continent of Africa. He was preparing my heart before He positioned my life.
“But He knows the way I take; When He has put me to the test, I will come out as gold.”
Job 23:10 (NASB)
The purpose of the call is not what we can accomplish for the Kingdom. God does not invite us into His work because He is short on help. He chooses to use us because He loves us. His will does not depend on our strength or strategy.
We are invited to participate. We are given a front-row seat to what He is already doing in the world. What a gift to witness lives changed by the love of Jesus.
Does this remove responsibility from us? Not at all. Obedience still requires action. Faith still requires movement. But it does correct our mindset.
When the call becomes centered on us, the questions multiply:
How will this affect me?
How will I pay for it?
What will people think?
Will they recognize that I was chosen?
The focus shifts quickly from Christ to self.
Just say yes to more of Him
The call of God is not about building our name. It is about making His name known. There must be less of us and more of Him in the yes we give.
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
John 3:30 (NASB)
These words from John 3:30 were spoken by John the Baptist. At that time, Jesus was stepping into public ministry, and John was at the height of his own. Crowds gathered to hear him preach repentance. His name was known. His influence was growing.
Then the shift came.
Jesus, the One John had been proclaiming, moved fully into the center of the story. John had already recognized Him publicly at the Jordan. He had declared who Jesus was. But understanding your role in a moment of strength is different from holding that conviction in a moment of weakness.
Later, while John was in prison, he had a wobbly moment.
“The disciples of John reported to him about all these things. And after summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or are we to look for another?’”
Luke 7:18–19 (NASB)
This was the same man who had boldly pointed to Jesus. Now, confined and facing the end of his ministry, he asked the question.
Jesus answered:
“Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: people who were blind receive sight, people who limped walk, people with leprosy are cleansed, and people who were deaf hear, dead people are raised up, and people who are poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is anyone who does not take offense at Me.”
Luke 7:22–23 NASB
John was in prison. His public influence was fading. Jesus’ ministry was expanding.
And in that transition, John wrestled.
Jesus did not scold him. He pointed to the evidence. The Kingdom was advancing. Lives were being changed. The mission was moving forward.
Then He added a clear warning. Do not stumble over Me.
Do not be offended
Even those who boldly say yes to God’s call can struggle when the season shifts. When influence decreases. When the role changes. When the spotlight moves.
John himself had said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Now he had to live it.
How often are we offended when someone else’s call intersects with ours and seems to have a greater impact?
Instead of celebrating what God is doing, we begin trying to protect our place. We work harder to remain visible. We measure influence. We quietly fear being forgotten.
The message Jesus sent back to John is preserved in Scripture for us as well. Do not be offended because of Me.
When others serving the Lord appear successful, when their churches are full, when they publish books or speak to large audiences, we must guard our hearts. Influence is not the measure of obedience.
Jesus addressed this spirit in another moment:
“John answered and said, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not hinder him; for the one who is not against you is for you.’”
Luke 9:49–50 NASB
The disciples wanted control. Jesus wanted cooperation in the Kingdom.
You don’t have time, just say yes
When we answer God’s call, our focus must remain on what He has assigned to us, not on what He has assigned to someone else. Too much time is spent critiquing methods, comparing platforms, and analyzing growth, when souls still need to hear the gospel.
God is fully capable of dealing with wrong motives. He does not need us to police everyone else’s calling. We do not have time to argue over preferences, styles, or secondary issues.
I recently heard someone say, “You don’t have time.” That sentence has stayed with me. As the years move forward, I am aware that my time is not unlimited. The final chapters of my life are closer today than they were yesterday. I cannot afford to waste energy on comparisons.
Answer the call
I have struggled with comparing myself to others. I have worried about what others are doing and whether we will ever see more than we see now. I have asked whether this season is temporary or permanent.
And then the harder question surfaces.
If this is the size, the reach, and the impact of my obedience for the rest of my life, is it enough? Am I content to obey, even if I am never widely known? Or is my discomfort tied to recognition?
There truly must be less of me so there can be more of Him.
The lesson? Just say Yes. Answer the call and don’t worry about someone else’s call.
Back to Isaac and Rebekah
Imagine their joy when God answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah conceived. Their tears were turned to laughter. Yet even before the babies were born, the struggle began. The boys moved within her, and Rebekah felt the tension so sharply that she questioned whether she had wanted children at all.
“The children struggled together within her, and she said, ‘If it is thus, why is this happening to me?’ So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.’”
Genesis 25:22–24 (NKJV)
Even in the earliest stages of God’s plan, the tension between vision and process is real. God’s call often begins long before the world can see the outcome.
The answer to our prayers often brings more than we expect. The battle between brothers would last a lifetime, and the younger, Jacob, would eventually be called to father the twelve tribes of Israel. Yet before Jacob could step into God’s grand plan, he went through a process of self-discovery. What he ultimately discovered about himself set the stage for real change.
Jacob said “yes” but on his terms
Jacob’s life illustrates how easily we try to take matters into our own hands. For all his life, he schemed his way toward the call he believed he was meant to fulfill. Of Jacob, his older brother Esau said:
“Then Esau said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has betrayed me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing…’”
Genesis 27:36 (NASB)
Esau was not without fault; he gave up his first blessing for a meal and he somehow managed to get past that indiscretion. But Jacob’s second act, taking his brother’s blessing, deepened the rift between them. Afterward, Jacob ran, conniving to get what he wanted. Every time he faced difficulty, he pledged loyalty to God, but when God acted, Jacob often reverted to his default behavior: scheming.
Jacob said “yes” to his call, but on his terms. He fell into the trap of “I can do this myself” and eventually wrestled with God Himself. It wasn’t until he recognized who he really was that God could shape him into who he was meant to be.
“Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.’ But he said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ So he said, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ Then he said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have contended with God and with men, and have prevailed.’ And Jacob asked him and said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.’ Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his hip. Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the tendon of the hip which is on the socket of the hip, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the tendon of the hip.”
Genesis 32:24–32 NASB
When we, like Jacob, come to the end of ourselves and stop trying to fulfill our calling on our own terms, change happens. Jacob’s name, meaning “schemer,” became Israel, meaning “Prince with God.” This surrender reshapes our identity, forming us into someone new.
Stop controling
Don’t say, “If I can only” or “Let me try” when answering God’s call. Just say yes and let Him shape you into who He wants you to be. Your calling is not only for those you serve. God uses your call to form you into His prince or princess, His royal child.
The valleys we face are not detours or punishments. They are the places where God shapes us into the people He has called us to be. Like Jacob, we may wrestle, stumble, and even try to take matters into our own hands. But the moment we stop striving in our own strength and just say yes, God begins His work in us.
Saying yes is not always easy. It may mean waiting, being uncomfortable, or watching others move ahead while we remain in the shadows. But God’s call is never about comparison. It is about surrender. It is about allowing Him to form us into who He created us to be.
So today, choose to step into the valley with trust. Say yes to God’s call without conditions. Stop trying to control the timing or the outcome. Let Him make you into the person He intends. Your obedience is not just for what you will do, but for who you will become.
Just say yes. Let Him shape, stretch, and strengthen you. And watch as He transforms your life, one step at a time.
✝️ Take a moment to pray: “Lord, I say yes. I trust You with my call, my timing, and my life. Shape me, mold me, and use me for Your glory.”
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Recommended Reading:
The Prodigal Prophet by Timothy Keller tells the story of Jonah, who struggled to say yes to God because of his own blindness and pride. It’s a powerful reminder that God’s plans are bigger than our perspective, and true surrender is the path to being shaped by Him.
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