Yield

In driving, a yield sign is situational. It means slow down, pay attention, and prefer someone else’s movement over your own.

It sounds simple, but I’ve noticed something about myself. I am far less likely to yield when I am in a hurry. When I feel rushed, everything becomes about getting to where I want to go as fast as possible.

That carries over into life. Hurry feeds self-centered living. Self-centered living works directly against kingdom assignments.

God’s kingdom requires patience and awareness of others more than yourself. This may explain why He so often disrupts our plans to get our attention for His kingdom.

Mary is a powerful example of this. When she found out she would carry the Son of God in her womb, it was not convenient. This was a real disruption with real cost.

Mary asked a clarifying question. “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” She was trying to understand what yielding would actually require. Gabriel assured her that this was God at work through her for something far bigger than her personal story.

This was a yield moment.

Her response matters. “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” (Luke 1:38)

She didn’t understand everything, nor did she probably feel ready or qualified. She acknowledged her identity first.

The act of yielding begins with knowing who you are as the Lord’s servant. Then doing what servants do.

Servants serve…at the direction of the Master.