WOULD YOU?

There seems to be a recurring question in my life lately.

WOULD YOU?

And it seems God Himself is asking the questions.

Would you be honest about something even if it could potentially cost you?

Would you still want Me even if this never materialized?

Would you be willing to really go over your motives and the desires of your heart with a fine-tooth comb?

My answer to each of these was YES. I will say though that my YES on some of these was a little more automatic, and my YES on others was a little more....eventual, I guess you could say.

I'm mindful that six years ago today, Justin and I were dealing with a really, really big WOULD YOU? We were sitting at an Outback Steakhouse having an early Valentine's Day dinner, talking about the very significant WOULD YOU that had been presented to us a few weeks before.

We'd been presented the opportunity to potentially adopt an 11-month old girl from China, if things didn't work out with another family. And we knew she'd potentially be in our arms within about 3 weeks.

And yet we had come to the conclusion that if God was leading, we would be willing to welcome this little one into our home. Even with three weeks notice. Because what God originates, He provides for. In all ways.

Sometimes His WOULD YOU? in our lives was the precursor to something that actually came to pass... WOULD YOU go to Boston if I called you there? WOULD YOU still trust Me if you never got to hold this child?

And other times His WOULD YOU has been a testing of our hearts, a proving of our faith. WOULD YOU adopt this child? In that case it turned out that the little girl in China was placed with another family--not to mention I was already pregnant with our first child as I sat at that Outback Steakhouse and didn't know it yet. We were talking about our family potentially growing, and it was already in the works--just not the way we were discussing it over a plate of cheesy fries.

Makes me think of Abraham, who was told to take his son Isaac--the one for whom he had waited--and sacrifice him. I honestly don't know HOW he was able to do this, but he took hold of his son's hand and set out in obedience. He had the weapon lifted over his son when the angel of the LORD called out to Abraham and said, "Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from my your son, your only son." And the LORD Himself declared that because Abraham's answer to His WOULD YOU was YES, He would bless Abraham and make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. The LORD promised that Abraham's descendants would take over the cities of their enemies and that all nations would be blessed through his offspring (Genesis 22).

Something tells me that simply returning home with his son in tow meant everything to him. And yet when the LORD called Abraham to obey, he did. Even though the cost could have been very, very great.

When the LORD asks of us "WOULD YOU?" -- what is our response? Yes, sometimes this question precedes our need to actually do what He has said. And other times it's a testing of our faith.

Either way, we can trust Him. He is sovereign and good.

Is He presenting you with a WOULD YOU in this season of your life? And is your YES immediate, eventual...or non-existent?