I was thinking of the old hymn, ‘Have Thine Own Way,’ and the one line at the end of the first verse keeps going over and over in my mind. The line that reads ‘While I am waiting, yielded and still.’ It is the idea that I can be both Yielded and Still at the same time as I am serving Jesus in the job He has called me to.
How does this work, Yielded AND Still. Well let’s start by looking at the various meanings for these words and how they are used together in this sentence.
Yield at dictionary.com has these meanings:
To give forth a natural product; be productive.
To produce a return for effort or investment: bonds that yield well.
To give up, as in defeat; surrender or submit.
To give way to argument, persuasion, influence, or entreaty. To give up one's place, as to one that is superior: yielded to the chairperson
In Romans 6:16-23 Paul uses this word in the manner that we will be using it in this chapter. It reads:
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So According to this scripture passage, the word yielded means to give up, as in defeat; surrender or submit. In this case it is the later – to submit.
Still at dictionary.com means:
To silence or hush (sounds, voices, etc.).
To calm, appease, or allay: to still a craving.
To quiet, subdue, or cause to subside (waves, winds, commotion, tumult, passion, pain, etc.).
For our purposes we will be using all three definitions together; to silence or hush, to calm, and to quiet or subdue. These definitions working together is the attitude our hearts should be in when we are still before our Lord. We are to be calm in our minds and heart, quiet in our voices and subdued in our spirit in order that the Lord can open all of our senses to what He has for us. In this place we are ready and able to listen to, hear and receive all that He has for us.
The Psalms has a couple of places where the psalmist showed us how God did this:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Psalms 46
For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Psalms 107:24-31
The meaning of the word still in both of these passages is the same; it means to be silent, quiet, still, inactive. It falls right into the combined definition we had chosen for the word Still. God not only caused the psalmist to be quiet in his mind, heart, and spirit, He did the same thing to the winds and the waves of the oceans. And he can do the same for us, too. Then we will be in the right place in our spirit to fully yield to His control of our lives.
I thought that I had this yielding to the Lord thing down. I was ‘saying’ that I had given Him complete control of my life and my heart’s desires. Yet when things didn’t go my way, I would get anxious and physically sick. I would start looking for a plan to get things back on track, back to my way of thinking. But ‘my’ plans never did work out the way I had dreamed that they should. I know I can be Yielded and Still before the Lord Jesus.
Let me just give you a recent example; I have been trying to buy a house for about three years. I looked at many that met what I told God that I wanted in my home. I had told the Lord that I wanted a home in Mound House, NV, with trees, a fenced yard for a dog, an area for a garden and at least two bedrooms. There were several that I found met my standards, yet no matter what I did I could not get any of them into escrow.
Then I prayed again and left the matter in God’s hands. I started looking at homes in the northeast section of Carson City, as well, that would meet my needs. I also engaged a different Real Estate Agent to assist me in my quest for a home. She found a home about a mile and a half from where I currently live. It met all of my prerequisites, so I asked my Pastors to come walk through it with me and give their opinion; which they did. Again we prayed and left the matter in God’s hands. But I wanted to have a word from God that I should go ahead with making an offer on it, so my friend, Sharon, and I went out to the property and walked around it praying and asking God to give me His word on the matter. After we prayed I found a child’s rope swing wrapped around one of the trees and felt this was His answer. It was a home meant for Children and Grandchildren. So I met with my realtor and we wrote up the offer.
Every step of the way has been bathed in prayer and even though there have been obstacles; each hurdle has been cleared with God’s blessings. And each new challenge has been brought before God for His answers and not my own. At this time I truly KNOW that even if I don’t get to move into this home, it will be because it will be His decision and it will be for my best interest. My whole heart desires to do His will alone, and not my own. Just like the words of this old hymn:
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Today I feel that, at least in this matter, I have found the way God has chosen for me to be Yielded and Still. I can follow His plan for me with my whole heart by practicing this position of humility before my Lord. He is my King, my God and my Husband, and I will follow Him no matter where He leads me!
