Sarah Yokum is a rare jewel.  She is so young, yet has so much wisdom.  I really got to know Sarah on a trip to Panama City Beach, Florida.  We were serving our church youth group and soaking up some rays…all in the Name of Jesus 🙂 I was so impressed by Sarah’s pure heart for God. The more I get to know her, the more amazed I become. I am thrilled that she is sharing with us here on the blog today!  

Sarah teaches 7th grade English and Reading at Branson Junior High and runs a Kanakuk Kitchen in the summers. She also serves at Woodland Hills Family Church on the Hospitality team, and wherever else needed at any given time. Her greatest passions are gathering people around the table, bringing women together from all stages in life, living singleness well, and writing. She also loves to cook and drink coffee. Sarah received her undergraduate degree from Kansas State University, received a Master’s from John Brown University, and attended the Kanakuk Institute.

You will definitely want to check out her excellent blog and website at www.sarahyocum.com where the theme is ‘Savoring the Season: An Adventure in the Unexptected.’

 

Be Needy

A Guest Post by Sarah Yokum

 

There has to be more of You, more than what I can comprehend. My version of You is so limited.  My prayer is to know You in a greater depth than I ever have before.  Strip me of everything that is holding me back from true freedom, reveal Yourself to me.  Take my heart and wreck it. Whatever it takes Lord, increase my awareness of dependence on you.

-Personal journal entry from August 2016

 

Don’t pray those words unless you are ready for the battle of your life. Since that warm summer evening, I have experienced the Lord’s presence in ways I never have before but not without pain and confusion.  Over the past six months the Lord has stripped away areas of my life that I held a tight grip on to remind me that He is in control when I can’t see it.  I have had to fight for grace and healing. I pursued Him more than I ever had before, but I also have felt His presence in ways I never imagined.

 

-To find more of Him; I had to let go of the person I had designed myself to be.

-To let Him transform my mind; I had to practice surrendering my thoughts daily.

-To experience Him more; I had to go to Truth every single time I found myself anxious.

 

He meets us in the pain every day.  Every time.  He shows up in the darkness when we are crying out.  He delights in us.  I had a distorted view that I was too needy with the Lord, always pleading with Him and bringing the brokenness of my heart to Him day after day.  

 

But then I remembered Hannah from 1 Samuel. Here was a woman who was discontent with her lot in life.  She was a hot mess, emotional to the point of not eating.  She prayed desperately for a baby.  I have to guard myself into twisting this passage of Scripture into believing that if I prayed hard enough, the Lord will give me what I want.  It’s the opposite; the more I pray and fellowship with Him, He changes my desires to align with Him.

 

What I love about Scripture is each story is not about the person, it is there to teach us something about God’s character.  1 Samuel 2 is close to my heart, not because I identify with Hannah desperately wanting a child, but because I identify with her desperation for the Lord and knowing that He is faithful, but allowing emotions to come out in the waiting.  For years, I have prayed for a vulnerable faith like hers; to be honest with the Lord daily, to be honest with those around me that following Jesus is hard but worth it.  Hannah teaches us that the Lord rejoices in our needs driving us to Him. Being needy with the Lord will take you to freedom.

    1. Neediness shows that God is God, no matter what.

We have to recognize God is the only one Who can save us.  There is nothing we can do to change our circumstance.  We only have the choice to release the grip on the idea that we have a better idea of what needs to happen than God does.  Hannah’s response to God was to cry out that “there is none Holy like The Lord, for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:2).

2. Neediness can show God’s character.

Hannah sees that her desperation is a positive because she knows that the Lord loves the weak.  She knows that “ He raises up the poor, lifts the needy from the ash heap” (1 Samuel 2:8). God loves needy people like us because it gives Him an incredible opportunity to show His love to the weak in a world that values strength and self-sufficiency.

3. Neediness displays God’s power.

This one is so simple but crucial.  God shows up to show the world that we can’t achieve anything on our own power and strength, only through His.  It gives me the perfect opportunity to show His infinite power.

4.  Neediness should drive us to Him.

Hannah uses her neediness to get more of the Lord.  It wasn’t about what she would receive in return.  She pours everything she has and lays it in front of the Lord, expecting Him to show up somehow.  Hannah cried out to the Lord, stands up and walks away with the peace knowing His sovereignty.

Once I grasped that the Lord loves needy women, I was able to approach the His Throne in freedom.  From Hannah, we can learn to:

 

1. Approach your days with the confidence that God always has something for you.  It may not be a huge something but it may be a lot of little somethings to remind you of His faithfulness.
2. Use anxiety, overthinking, pain and stress to drive you to Truth.  Repeat Scripture until your heart is calm. Remind yourself of how the Lord has been faithful before.
3. Use your obstacle to take you to Him.  Use the pain and longing to take you to your knees and seek the only One Who has the power.
4. Rest and wait.  You will know when pain and hardships have served a purpose when you, like Hannah, can walk away in peace.

 

Then keep doing those things each day.  Let everything drive you right back to His word.  God is not interested in people who need Him once and then walk away never looking back.  We are more needy than what we can ever understand, He wants us to need Him because He is the only one Who can satisfy.  We may still long for things but let the longing encourage you.  He is working in you and through you.  Be patient in the suffering because He is molding us in His image.  Remember His promises.  The battle is hard but we already know Who has won.  Remain steadfast and establish your hearts, be patient.  See the purpose of the Lord and remember Job and Hannah and how the Lord is compassionate and merciful (James 5).