Your Best Yes
If you’ve worked in ministry for any length of time you know that people always love to ask about our work schedule.
Do you only work one day a week?
Are you available anytime someone comes to your door?
Must be nice having nothing to do Monday thru Friday.
I’ve heard them all, and I usually try to respond with a little bit of grace, and I almost always say the following;
My schedule is really flexible, except for when it isn’t.
And again, if you’ve worked in the local church you know exactly what I’m talking about:
I can’t move a wedding.
It’s really hard to move a funeral.
And Sunday is coming - Every. Single. Week.
That being said, I am not a victim of my schedule. And neither are you. We all have a voice on how many meetings we are going to take in the evening, or what we will say yes to on any particular day.
From my experience, that’s the hardest part - being okay with saying no. No means that people may not like me. No means I have to draw a line. No creates a possibility of disappointment.
Yet, when I read the Gospels I notice that Jesus said no to the disciples a lot. He wasn’t afraid to disappoint people. He was clear, “He came to do the will of the Father,” (John 5:30).
No, and yes are partners, one feeds the other. Being able to say no means that you’ll have space/capacity/resources to give your right yes.
That’s what this is all about.
Your right yes. What do you need to do next to get to your right yes? How can you protect your time for that availability?
Jesus spent time regularly communing with the Father, and I think He did it so He could be clear about His right yes, about what the Father wanted next. I want to encourage all of us to do the same.
Create space to commune, and maybe as a result you’ll have your best yes.