The Hard Word
One of the hardest words in the English language for me to say over the years might surprise you. It’s just two letters. It might even be a word that you struggle to speak. The word… is ‘NO’. You may have spoken it successfully at times. I finally learned that I could say no to some things.
For years I said yes to almost everything I was asked to do. I’m not talking about the obvious things that we know we shouldn’t do. Some things that I said yes to were important things that I really needed to say yes to and some were things I probably should have taken a step back from to have time for the important things in my life. Some were things I just really didn’t want to do or didn’t have time to do but I said yes so I didn’t disappoint someone and in the meantime I missed out on what I should have been doing.
Even a good thing is a bad thing when it replaces the best thing. Saying no to the good can give us the ability to say yes to the great! And I’m not saying that we should say no just to avoid doing things. I am saying that I believe the secret to knowing when to say yes OR no is what Jesus told us in Matthew 11: 28-30. “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
I definitely want to learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Walking and working with Jesus will teach us how to be in tune with Him to know when to say yes and when to say no.
Read more devotions written by Denise Harper at Treasured Inside
