“…but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” –James 5:12

            Think of a time when you have been told yes. That might have been to buy a new toy, car, house, or maybe a trip that you were told you could attend. Now think of a time when you were told no. Maybe that was when you wanted to stay at a friend’s house for the night or when you applied for a promotion at work and didn’t get it. How did those situations make you feel? The yes probably made you happy for a little while, and the no probably made you upset for a time as well.

            Now think of a time when you were told yes and then the answer really was no, like when you get offered a job right out of college and then they call back and say that those jobs are no longer available or when you make plans with a friend and then they back out at the last minute because something more important came up. When those things happen you feel like you have been cheated or aren’t very valued as a friend. Maybe you have experienced the opposite when a no really meant yes. When you’ve asked for something and you have been repeatedly told no but they buy it for you anyway or when you beg long enough for something that you end up getting it.

            When yeses are yes and noes are no, life may seem unfair but you learn to understand that people mean what they say. They don’t go changing their mind or giving in to whatever the situation has been. They are honest and keep their word, and as frustrating as that can be, when you look back on the situation you generally notice that the person was trying to do what they thought was best for you and you can’t be stay angry because they were truthful with you. But when people’s yeses and noes get mixed up or are opposite you don’t really know what to think. There is a certain ambiguity to the situation that you are in and you never know what the answer will be until you get there. Honesty and clarity come into question and you begin to wonder if people are really looking out for you or if they are trying to just keep you from things.

            Thankfully with God His yeses are yes and His noes are noes. We don’t have to wonder if He really means it when He says if you believe you will be forgiven, or when He says He rose from the grave, we can know and understand that those things happened. Sometimes however we get another message and that is to wait. It’s not a no and it’s not a yes… yet. It will be one or the other, when He decides the time is right. So be reminded this morning that God is faithful to answering your requests in His time and His way, because He has a history of honesty.

QOTD: What do your yes’ and no’s mean when you say them? Do people believe you?

“Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes.” -Eleanor Roosevelt