2 Corinthians 1:20

     Sometimes I think too much. Like a cat with a ragged, stuffed mouse, I can pounce and taste and worry a subject until it falls apart. This bad habit would be detrimental enough if we were talking about minor things, but the more important the subject, the more I'm prone to get locked in analysis paralysis.

     For instance, the way God answers prayer. It's a big subject and an important one. So, I can debate, argue and counter argue forever. My reasoning gets all scrambled up with debates over human free will, the purpose of evil, laws of nature and the mysterious interaction of matter & spirit.

     The end results of all this mental exercise has never been profitable, but I'm prone to continue with it anyway. About the only way I have found to stop the merry-go-round is to forget the possibilities of "no," "wait" and "maybe," and instead concentrate on one answer: "Yes." The apostle Paul said all of God's promises are answered in Jesus and they are always answered "Yes!" and "Amen."

     Paul had been accused of duplicity. To put it in our terms, they said he was two-faced, speaking out-of-both-sides-of-his-mouth, wishy-washy. He led them to believe one thing, but was hiding a different answer close to his chest and would use fancy arguments to switch from "yes" to "no" at his convenience or whim.

     He was concerned enough to spend nearly half a chapter explaining the situation and his primary distress appears not to be his own reputation, but because the people were viewing God through the same lens. Paul was the one who introduced them to the gospel and if he could speak with forked tongue, maybe God's answers came that way, too.

     For the accusation against himself, Paul explained his why his change of plans was for the benefit of Corinthian Christians, not personal convenience or whim. But, for the accusation against God, something more was needed. Paul didn't even try to explain that one but did something even simpler. He pointed to one, single, affirmative answer: Jesus.

     Jesus is God's eternal and resounding "YES!" to every question, every promise and every prayer request ever made. We may fumble and guess and rationalize all the angles and possibilities. We may struggle when a request we regarded as good is not granted. We may chafe with God's timing and wonder if He has forgotten us.

     One look at Jesus lets us know these struggles are not because God opted for His own comfort rather than our freedom and benefit. He hasn't gone on vacation and He is not pouting or getting even because He's mad. God always has a heart toward us that wants the best. He is determined for the best and will sacrifice the treasures of heaven to give us the best.

You doubt that? Just look at Jesus. He is the "Yes" of God.