Yielded and Still

“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.”  Isaiah 42:8 (NIV)

The sign was a triangle with a red outline and said, “Yield,” but the car kept going and the driver did not even look my direction.  The car proceeded with no intention of slowing down for anyone else.  Every time I drive on the interstate and deal with the on and off ramps, it seems people have forgotten what “yield” means.  When I was in Florida, the sign stated that traffic yielded to pedestrians in the walkways.  Most drivers obeyed the sign and stopped when we wanted to cross the street. 

Yield is an important rule in driving.  The yield sign, according to the rules of the roadway means you should drive slowly and give the right to other vehicles or pedestrians approaching from a different direction.  To yield is to relinquish control, to surrender.  To yield is also used in agriculture and industry to describe how much is produced.  Yield is also used in describing authority – one yields to the authority or leadership of the one in charge.

We tend to yield – give up control – too easily to people who do not have our best interest.  We yield to those who are loudest or who wear us down.  We yield to society’s views even when they are different than what our beliefs and foundation of life state.  We yield to the desires of others even when it does not feel right.  We make yielding a negative term.

I have been pondering what yield means in our relationship with God.  To yield to God means we surrender to God’s control of our lives.  We allow God to merge into our lives, and God combines His strength with ours.  Sometimes we need to slow down, let God in, and allow God to lead.  To yield also means we need to be still for a moment and look for God’s Presence.

The hymn – “Have Thine Own Way, Lord” has this phrase – “while I am waiting yielded and still.” Do we truly want God to have His own way in our lives?  We sing this hymn, but are we really willing to surrender control of our total lives to God?  I think we sing the song – “I want my own way, Lord, and I am in a hurry so do not slow me down.”  We tend to want life to turn out the way we had planned and in our time frame.  We want God to bless our plans, and we do not want change to happen when we get comfortable.

I know what it feels like when life changes and I did not expect life to be so different.  It is not what I planned or thought but it is what I now have.  I am learning to embrace this different life and focus on the adventure.  I am yielding to God and allowing God to take the lead more.  I am waiting more on God’s timing.

I still keep moving on the path of life, but I slow down so God can get in front of me and I can follow God not the world.  This brings so much more peace. Sometimes when I yield, God slows me down and I am accepting it is what I need to do. Why am I in a hurry anyway?  God wants you and me to enjoy the moments around us.  Look what is currently around you right now and find God’s presence and peace in the moment.  Sit in the summer breeze and allow the wind of God’s Spirit to flow through you.  Take a walk in nature and surround yourself with the glory of God’s creation.  Pause and smile at a child and receive the joy in your heart from the child’s smile.  Yield to the life around you instead of focusing on what you do not have or lost. 

As you yield to God and slow down, God will produce in you His peace and joy.  God may not change your circumstances, but God will change how you view your life.  Yield to God’s loving presence.