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Sometimes, God says, “no.” That’s when I find out how much of a spiritual toddler I am.

I was talking to my sister’s widower yesterday. We were discussing our future without our spouses, and I said, “I trust God, but I’m afraid. Experience tells me that His ‘good’ plan for me includes letting ALL of the bad things happen to me.”

Yep. I said those words. Yikes. As soon as I heard them come out of my mouth, I knew they were from the enemy. He’s pretty good at that: convincing me that perception is king. He is, after all, the father of lies. But personal experience does not trump truth and perception isn’t king; truth is king. It is my responsibility to shift my perspective until I perceive that which is true.

So, what is true?
Sometimes, God says “no.” That’s the hard reality. But when I perceive that bad things are waiting around every corner, I need to step back, put on my perspectacles, and look at the whole truth.

• Fear is a liar.
  The spirit of fear is not from God. It is a weapon of the enemy, intended to incapacitate me and render me useless for the Kingdom. That would be a terrible waste of my pain.
• God is not a genie.
  We think God is obligated to give us whatever we ask, as long as we get the formula right. When he doesn’t concede to our will, we are shocked and our “faith” becomes disillusioned. The truth is; my will should be subjected to His will, not the other way around. When I submit to Him, my greatest desire will be to advance His Kingdom. Anything else is a bonus.
• Father knows best.
  I don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle. I don’t even have a picture of the finished product. All I have is the piece of the puzzle that is mine. By faith, I accept the piece I’m given and trust the hand of the Master to make a masterpiece out of my life. He knows. He sees. He makes no mistakes.
• This world is not my home.
  Life is not supposed to be heavenly! I am an alien and sojourner here. I’m just here recruiting. This life is not my own. I have a task to complete in this life, and although God may gift me with joys along the way, my reward is in the life to come. Only then, will there be no more tears, no more sorrow and no more pain.
• I receive much good at God’s hand, none of which I deserve. Anything short of Hell is mercy. Anything more than nothing is grace. As Job asked his wife, should we accept only good from the Lord, and no bad? The question isn’t, “why me?” but rather, “why not me?” No matter what, He is always only good.

How then should I respond to the “no?”
Two examples come to mind:

• The Apostle Paul asked God three separate times to remove a thorn in the flesh from him. We aren’t told what the thorn was, making it easy to insert our own trial into the equation. Three times, Paul begged God to relieve his suffering and three times, God said “no.” But then, He gave Paul the rich text of 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And how did Paul respond? “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Wait. What? We’re supposed to be thankful for the “no?” According to Paul, yes. Because that’s when we get to experience the power and presence of Christ. His grace is enough.
• In Matthew 26, Jesus begged the Father to find another way to provide for the redemption of mankind. His anxiety was so great that blood oozed out of His pores! This was God’s own Son, yet His answer was “no.” Jesus’response? “Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done.” His complete surrender resulted in our eternal pardon.

Sometimes, God says “no.” And every “no” is an opportunity to peel back my pretense and find out what I really worship. If my ultimate goal is my present happiness, I will become discouraged, disappointed and disillusioned. I will pout and insist that prayer doesn’t work or that God doesn’t care. But if I see myself as a living sacrifice, purchased by Christ’s blood and designated for His glory, I will lay my own will down on the altar and hold loosely the things of this world. Too often, I am ashamed to find that I hold on tightly to the things — and people — of this world, and it’s excruciating to have them ripped from my grasp.

Sometimes, God says, “no.” Should I quit praying? Should I quit trusting? Should I quit believing? Should I quit obeying? I should not. I will not. Day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, I will make the choice to surrender my will to His; knowing that His grace is, and will continue to be, sufficient.

5/9/22