5 Rewards of Your YESSample

## Reward #1: Abundant Joy and Peace As a young child, I always looked forward to Saturdays. Saturday was usually the day my parents would go to “town.” That day was my favorite because I knew my sister and I would get a candy bar. We had to split it, but still, it was candy! There was so much joy taking in every luscious bite of that candy bar that we took our sweet time eating it. Oh, the joy that one little bit of indulgence brought! ## In the same manner, when you give your life to Jesus and say "yes" to His will for your life, He gives you sweet rewards. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that the person who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. In this Bible Plan, I want to talk with you about five specific rewards God will give you as you walk along your journey of saying "yes" to Him! ## The first reward you receive when you say "yes" to God's will for your life is the combined reward of joy and peace. Saying "yes" to God launches us down an unpredictable path upon which we will walk through uncharted territory with the Lord the rest of our lives. However, He gives us indelible joy and peace for the journey. ### Abraham knew what it meant to say "yes" to God. When Abram (later called Abraham) heard God speak, his immediate response was to say, "Yes“. So he took his wife Sarai (later called Sarah), his household, and everything that he owned and he left his hometown of Haran. Abraham didn't know where he was going when he set out on his journey. He only knew that the Lord had told him, "Go out to a place that I will show you." All Abraham had was a word from God—but what a word it was! Just listen to the amazing rewards God promised Abraham in that one encounter: * He said He would make Abraham a great nation; * He said He would bless Abraham and make his name great; and * He said that Abraham would be a blessing to others. ## But Abraham didn't know about the opposition he would face while journeying to the land of reward. Often, God will only show us the "movie trailer" of our lives—not the whole movie. He sends us out, but then we find out that the movie has ups and downs, troubles and trials. Nevertheless, we always have the Lord's promise of reward! And with that reward will come the joy and peace of knowing that you are in the perfect will of God. The world can't understand the joy and peace that God gives. People who don't know God can't understand why you have abundant joy and peace despite an uncertain journey. They don't know that you're going to a land God will show you, and that your peace and joy are rewards that God gives for following hard after Him. ## There is always a cost when you say "yes" to God. However, there is always a reward as well. Jesus said, " And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). Abraham and Sarah personally paid the price of leaving all that they knew, but they experienced the reward God promised, as well. When they arrived in Canaan—the land of reward—God gave them a son. They named their child of promise "Isaac," which means "laughter." Isaac was the delight of their old age. That sounds like a great reward to me! My friend, if you have said "yes" to God and fully surrendered to His will for your life, prepare to be rewarded. The first reward you will receive is that of abundant joy and peace—so get ready to laugh in this season!