Recently I wrote about “A Decade of No,” here are some of the things I pulled away from that time. I hope something helps.
1. “Yes” and “No,” must be listened to and considered, but neither “Yes” nor “No” are, by nature, permanent.
2. People rarely talk or think themselves into “Yes” on their own, there’s a natural tendency to think of why a thing won’t work in most of us when left to our own devices. We need to surround ourselves with voices that say “yes.”
3. “Yes” is harder than “no,” because “yes” requires a follow through of responsibility and stewardship.
4. “No” is not nearly the enemy that self-preservation driven by small perspective is.
5. We must let Jesus meet and humble us with His greatness, in the “yes” and in the “no,” if we want to be freed from that bigger enemy.
6. We’re worthy of the best “Yesses,” but we’re never entitled to even the smallest one.
7. We’re worthy of being understood, but we’re never entitled to others being able to or even wanting to understand us.
8. Worth is greater than entitlement. Entitlement will give you permission to live as a victim, worth will give you permission to live as more than a conqueror through Christ who strengthens you.
9. The degree to which you want a yes, is somewhat shown by how many times you’re willing to risk “no.”
10. Our past or present obedience or hardships do not earn us what we want; nor does the fact that we’d likely succeed with a “yes.”
11. Entitlement is the graveyard of gratitude and joy; the seedbed of bitterness, envy, malice, and strife.
12. Sometimes we need to look ourselves in the mirror and say “But did you die?!”
13. Passivity and impatience are counterfeits of patience and courage respectively.
14. Pain is better than being a coward.
15. If we are good stewards of pain, fear and anxiety lose their power.
16. Sometimes you just gotta cry. For “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
