To Become Yielded

To Become Yielded

We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us.

1 Corinthians 4:12

We drive slowly past a yield sign, watching to see if we have the right-of-way, but to the Amish the word yield means something completely different. They choose to give up what they want—to yield their desires—for the sake of others. They see life on the farm as being interdependent on others (which it is). They believe God has called them to a life of hard work. They also believe their work on the family farm is a redemptive tradition: each season there is life, harvest, and then death—which leads to life again. They know seasons of our lives are the same. We can’t have a 100 percent harvest, a 100 percent life.

The Amish are raised to die to their own wills. They believe the truest form of love is found in being powerless—in giving over power to God. Isn’t this the example of Christ? He was patient with those who cursed Him and abused Him. He had all power, yet He yielded still, for God’s—and our—greater good.

The lives of the Amish are symbols of the same. Although many of us do not have Amish friends, the lives of the Amish speak, making their words unneeded.

While I’m sure no Amish person claims to be perfectly yielded and accepting of hard work, curses, or abuse, the difference lies in their attitude. They know that life in this world brings pain and heartache, and they aren’t surprised when it does. And they choose to yield to whatever God hands them.

In contrast, many of us are stunned and shaken when challenging times come. We are caught off guard. We want to know why. We question God.

Jesus gives us the answer in John 15:20: “Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.” Would we look at life differently if we believed that, as the Amish do? How would life look if we became yielded to all God brought, in every season, trusting Him always as the Right-of-Way?

Dear heavenly Father, I offer myself, my life, to You. I yield my will to Yours. I know that whatever comes into my life comes from Your hand. And, Lord, in my powerlessness, I trust I will experience Your power as I never have before.