People today are stressed out! It’s a common topic of conversation and a common ailment for which doctors are prescribing meds to calm people who are stressed out. Maybe you are stressed out as you look at all the things calling for your attention and participation. Face the fact that much of our stress has been the result of our refusing to say “no.” It’s easy to take on a commitment for which we later regret or worse, for which we stress out about having to fulfill. Sound familiar? We need some wisdom in handling this and other similar scenarios otherwise we’ll say “no” to the wrong things.
Ephesians 5:14–20 (ESV) — 14 Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The first thing to note is the call to wake up. It’s easy to get into the stupor of the world which is the path of least resistance. If we were to wake up, we’d see that it’s easier to just say “no” to things than it is to stress about how you are going to fulfill the commitment that you had no business making. Just say “no.”
“Arise from the dead,” is to realize that God is in control and as He gives life to those who are dead in sins, so He gives life to us so that we don’t have to do those things we were Imprisoned to do before He came into our lives.
Ephesians 2:1–5 (ESV) — 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Romans 8:11 (ESV) — 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Notice then the promise that Christ will shine on you. He gives wisdom when we ask him for it. He shines His love upon us so that we understand that He is the one to please instead of trying to please everyone. He shines upon us with freedom rather than the bondage of coercion or manipulation.
2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV) — 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Going back to the passage in Ephesians 5, we see the need to “look carefully how you walk (or live) not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Making good decisions about our time and our commitments is not an easy task. It means that we must decide what is important. For those who have made a commitment as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, the word of God is the guide that will help make every decision in life. As you follow the word of God by being in tune and under the power of the Holy Spirit, you learn to say “no” not only to the things that are definitely wrong but also to the things that are not the best thing to do.
There is a little book in print from Jonathan Edwards titled, Resolutions and Advice to Young Converts. The book is an excellent source of “how to,” although it was never intended to be such. Jonathan Edwards early in his days of following the Lord Jesus
Christ began writing resolutions based upon what he found in the Scriptures that God would have His followers do. As Jonathan Edwards would see new things in the word of God or as God impressed him to make further changes, he would write a new resolution.
These resolutions were much more than what we know as new year’s resolution, these resolutions were used by him as a weekly guide and examination. Look at the opening paragraph in preface to the 70 resolutions:
“Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat Him by His grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ’s sake.” And a preface resolution: “Remember to read these resolutions once a week.”
It’s not easy to follow a resolve to follow the Lord Jesus Christ because it’s not the easy way out, but unless you resolve, you won’t follow Him and decisions you make will follow in the path of least resistance which not only are not the best, but they most often include the stress of outside pressure.
Back to the guidance in Ephesians 5 where we find the admonition: “Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit will lead us to understanding what the will of the Lord is as we search the word of God. The way of the wise is to rely upon the word of God instead of going on feelings. Foolishness is trying to do anything on our own.
Psalm 1:1–3 (ESV) — 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Psalm 14:1 (ESV) — 1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
The wise person who is most interested in what God has for his life, learns the power of saying “no,” instead of falling into the trap of saying “yes” to everything. The only way to find this power and enjoy the fruit of this power is to know and decide to follow what is important according to the Bible. It’s the best way, as you see in Psalm 1 above, that this way yields fruit and brings true prosperity. It’s the power in and through the act of saying “no.”
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker, Pastor
Christ Community Presbyterian Church
Clearwater, FL
