I am a creature of habit. My iPhone seems to be just like me. Each weekday morning, this is her message: 

Only 40 minutes to work, take Highway 90, traffic is light. 

Really sista? You need to update. Traffic is NEVER light! You need to get with the program. You need to change.

Yes, Ellen, so do you. It’s time to get with the program.

Ouch. I (almost) hate it when God speaks to me like that. I’ve been trying to roll with the changes in my life, but some of them have thrown me for a loop. So many little changes need to be made to adjust to the larger change. I have struggled with it, I’ll tell ya’.

Throughout, my prayer has been “Lord, what do you want to teach me with this? What is Your heart for me in this season?”

By and large, the answer I’ve been hearing is Yield.

Pretty hard for someone as stiff-neck and stubborn as I am.

And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Exodus 32:9 ESV

Yield.

The dictionary defines yield as “surrender; give up the struggle.” Does that mean I have to give up or give in? Does that mean I can’t take a stance, fighting for what I believe?

While there are times to stand firm, what is important right now is to yield, especially to small changes that need to be made. 

I didn’t want to shorten my quiet time with God. But ten extra minutes each morning has lowered my stress level and my road rage.

I didn’t want to auto schedule my bill paying (Horrors!! That’s a loss of control!). However, it has made the process much faster and more streamlined, ultimately saving me time. 

I didn’t want to miss a week of blogging. My goal is to post weekly. Sometimes, I’m not able to do this. But you know, it’s ok. The world didn’t end. Hard to imagine, but NONE of my twenty or so followers contacted me to complain or ask what happened.

Yield. It is also defined as “produce or provide.”

So, what has surrendering provided for me?

Great peace.

And a glimpse of how yielding to Christ can bring a harvest.

Have you ever seen the head of a mature sunflower that bends low with the weight of its seeds? Eventually the seeds drop to the ground. In due time, they’ll sprout and grow new flowers.

Same with yielding to Christ. When I bend low in humble obedience to the small changes He wants to make in me, the result can bring a great harvest.

I think that’s worth yielding and changing for, don’t you?

Grace be with you,