Excerpt
The Journey of Yes
Introduction Welcome to the JourneyEyes squeezed shut, heart racing wildly, I struggled to breathe, clinging to the rails on either side of me. My feet felt like they were anchored by heavy weights, making it nearly impossible to move. As I stood there contemplating what I was going to do, I heard a voice say, “You’re not alone.” I opened my eyes and saw my coach in the pool below. We locked eyes, and a rush of bravery pushed me forward on the diving board. With each step, I took a deep breath. Once I reached the end of the board, I bent my knees, jumped, and plunged into the water. I broke the surface and shouted, “Yes! I did it!” At this time, I was about six or seven, taking swimming lessons at summer camp, and had just reached the stage where I was moving from the low dive to the high dive. I was terrified. When I was a child, my imagination often magnified my fears. Even though I loved the water, could swim well, and knew I’d surface safely, I still struggled to say yes to the challenge.
Not until someone reminded me that I wasn’t alone did I find the courage to take the leap. I realized I’d be diving into the care of my instructor, who was waiting for me in the water. All I had to do was say yes.
Can you remember the first time you said yes to the unknown, having no idea where the yes would lead? What did it feel like? What was holding you back? I’m sure you’ve faced a similar time when you had to defy every instinct that screamed “No!” You chose to push past your fears and doubts and say yes. Taking a leap of faith isn’t always an easy feat.
Saying yes often means confronting the fears conjured by our imagination rather than the actual challenges. I frequently feel unprepared, but a shift occurs when I realize I’m not alone. When I saw my instructor waiting in the water, I knew I wasn’t facing the unknown by myself. The same is true with God. He leads us into journeys that seem overwhelming, but He promises to be with us every step of the way. Jumping off that high dive planted a seed of courage in me, showing me that saying yes to the unknown was a crucial step in life.
I’m often asked, “How did you have the courage to pack up and move across the country to L.A. with no solid plan or job waiting?” Another question is, “How did I have the courage to say yes to forgiveness despite a devastating betrayal that almost caused me to end my life?” The answer to both questions is that my faith led me beyond what I was afraid of to a life I couldn’t have dreamed of. My fellowship with God led me on a journey that produced my yes. The answer was not ignoring the fear but recognizing that I had power over it and that all I really needed to do was just say yes.
Perhaps your first significant yes was not in swim class but maybe when you decided to pick up this book. It could have been in your decision to walk away from that toxic relationship and finally say yes to choosing you. Or maybe it was walking down the aisle to the altar and dedicating your life to following Jesus. Whether it’s accepting a new job, moving to a new place, or starting a family, life is a journey of continually saying yes.
The journey of yes is both an invitation to do life with God and a continuous decision to follow Him. At its core, it represents the moment when we first respond to God’s call, aligning ourselves with His purpose and design for our lives. This initial “yes” can be transformative—it sets us on a path of surrender and trust, opening our hearts to a new relationship with Him. But as we walk this path, we quickly realize that life is not a single act of obedience; it is a series of choices, each requiring us to say yes to God in fresh and profound ways.
Each step along this journey represents another opportunity to trust, grow, and deepen our dependence on Him. Some journeys of yes are monumental experiences of self-discovery or pivotal decisions that reshape our lives. Others are quieter, more subtle, challenging us not in what we gain but in who we become. Every act of saying yes draws us closer to the person God created us to be, revealing His character and His plans for us. At the same time, the journey of yes is also a singular, unified story—a lifelong adventure of faith and intimacy with Jesus. From the first “yes” that brought us to Him, to the countless decisions that sustain our walk, our lives tell the story of one great, ongoing journey with God. Whether it feels like the beginning of something new or the continuation of a well-worn path, the journey of yes invites us to live completely in God’s plans, moment by moment and step by step.
I invite you to embark on the journey of yes—a deliberate, life-changing decision to walk in obedience to God in faith, surrender, and self-discovery. By saying yes to God, you open yourself to the person He has always known you to be—the person He lovingly created for His purpose. Each step is an opportunity to grow, trust, and deepen your relationship with Him. Wherever you are in your journey, I encourage you to take the next step, knowing that God’s plans for you are filled with meaning, transformation, and boundless love.
I need to be up front—this path won’t always be smooth. It will have its highs and lows, its occasions of stillness and its periods of turbulence. What I can assure you is that you won’t be alone. Although this journey might feel like it’s taking things from you or disrupting your life, with each yes, you’ll come to see that the true purpose of the journey is to discover who God is, how He sees you, and who you will become as a result of your yes.
In my own journey, I find that before I give God my yes, I usually have a list of questions I want answered. I have a terrible habit of creating this world of hypotheticals inside my head that leads me into self-doubt, overthinking, and stagnation. That imaginary world makes a convincing case for the familiar always being the safest option.
I’m currently in the middle of giving God one of the boldest yeses I’ve ever had to give. This one feels different because I’m diving headfirst into the unknown. Not knowing the outcome of our yeses is what makes them hard to give. But instead of leaning into the world created by my fears, I’ve learned to access one rooted in my faith by using the Bible to create the foundation for my yes. Faith helps us overcome the fear of saying yes.
Fear is frequently the first emotion we experience when we receive a directive from God. But God’s nature isn’t to lead us into harm or danger. In reality, the true danger lies in ignoring His guidance and remaining stagnant. As we grow in our understanding of who God is, we come to realize that each instruction from Him brings us closer to Him, even if it doesn’t always feel that way. This is where our faith comes into play. Both faith and fear demand belief: We can choose to trust the deceptions fear presents, or we can choose to believe in God’s promises, even when their fulfillment isn’t yet visible.
The easier decision will always be to go with what you know or what you are comfortable with. Most times we choose what is seemingly safe. But who told us that the easier option is always the best one? So many times along my journey, I’ve sided with fear, and let me tell you, it was not safe. Fear deceives us into accepting a false reality that where I am or what I’m currently doing is better than what God is asking me to do. Faith doesn’t necessarily eliminate fear, but it helps us act despite it, providing the courage to move forward in uncertainty. Holding space for both fear and faith allows us to balance caution with hope, vulnerability with resilience, making us adaptable in the face of life’s challenges.
No matter how fear has caused you to respond to God, by the end of this book I believe you will encounter Jesus in a way that you trust Him enough to say yes, despite how things may look. Here is a point of encouragement that levels me at the start of every journey: Just like the Lord commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous and not fear, we can have courage because of the promise that God will be with us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9). Even when we don’t know where the yes is leading us, we can be confident that the One leading us will always be present. I’m excited to go on this journey with you and even bring along some of my friends.
Let’s buckle up as we begin our journey of yes.
