What Will Your Response Be?

Scripture: "Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Song Inspiration: Yes (Live) - Shekinah Glory Ministry

When I look back over my experiences as a child and my involvement in church, I am so blessed to say that I have been a praise dancer for almost 14 years. Operating in the ministry of dance has truly blessed me and the lives of others as well. Out of all the songs I have danced to throughout the years, there is one in particular that I hold dear to my heart: Yes by Shekinah Glory Ministry.

When I was younger, my praise dance team and I used to dance to Yes all the time! Back then, I didn't really see the need to keep dancing to this song over and over and over again. It came to the point where I didn't even like ministering to it anymore. Soon after going through that phase, a realization came over me. Now as a young adult, I see that ministering to this song over and over and over again had a purpose. I am so thankful that I realized what that purpose was.

When I first started dancing to this song, I generally knew it was about surrendering to God and turning away from our sins, so that we can fully live for Him. As I kept ministering to Yes on multiple occasions, the song kept tugging at my heart. I knew I was a sinner that needed to make a change in her life. Ministering to this song with tears FLOWING from my eyes, I was beginning to see why God had allowed us (myself more specifically) to keep dancing to this one particular song.

It came another time that God called us to minister to Yes once again, and this specific time was indeed one where I wished we were dancing to another song instead. At this time, I understood the full meaning & power behind the song, but yet, I was still stuck in my flesh, wanting to dance to something more comfortable, and less vulnerable. As I was in the midst of ministering this time around, I felt God beginning to deal with my flesh.

We had danced to the song so many times that I knew every single word from beginning to end. Words that were once just lyrics were now turning into a call...waiting for my response and action...

The song says:

Will your heart and soul say yes? Will your Spirit still say yes? There is more that I require of thee Will your heart and soul say yes?

While dancing, God was calling me to reevaluate my life and my situations. I was too comfortable...I had been comfortable for years, actually. He's been asking me "Will your heart and soul say yes? Will your Spirit still say yes?" And every time, my response was 'yes'...

I went to church, I was a part of the praise dance team, I was serving in other areas of the church, I read my bible, I did so many things that I thought God was pleased with. But God was saying, "It's not enough. I need more of you."

I started getting emotional...this time very different from emotions I felt in years past.

I knew this time, I had to let some things go in order to give God my full yes. I knew this time I had to give God my absolute all, because without it, my 'yes' meant absolutely nothing. Some relationships had to end. Some habits had to cease. I was responding, but I wasn’t showing any actions to support my ‘yes’.

As a praise dancer, my role is to minister to the congregation, but it’s something really special about a song that can truly bless you while you’re in the process of blessing others...

~*~

I say all of this to say that sometimes when we think we're giving God our all, we really can give Him so much more. It could be extending our prayer time each day or reading our bibles more and actually applying what it says to our lives.

Whatever it may be and whatever that may look like for you, just remember that God is expecting something that is genuine. If we're going to tell God 'yes', then it needs to be authentic. It needs to be true. If we're going to tell God 'yes', we need to really mean it, with all our hearts, souls, and strength.

So when God asks, "Will your heart and soul say yes?", what will your response be?