When God says, “No,” just say, “Thank you!”

First, we know that God loves us (1 John 4:8 ESV).  He showed His love for us even when we were still sinners (Romans 5:8 ESV) by sending His only son, Jesus, to be a propitiation for our sins and to die on a cross that we might have eternal life (1 John 4:10; John 3:16 ESV).  His word tells us that absolutely nothing, no one and no experience can separate us from His love (Romans 8:35-39 ESV).

And precisely because He loves us, He sometimes answers ‘No’ to what we request in our prayers.  That’s what loving parents do.  They say, “No” to a diet of only soda and ice cream.  They say, “No” to hanging out all night.  They say, “No” to pornographic and vulgar television and violent video games.  They say, “No” to wrong friends and bad habits.  I feel certain that my parents were not the only ones reminding children that they had already had certain experiences, that they were older and wiser and that they knew best.  Matthew teaches us that if sinful parents know how to give good gifts to their children, then even more so the heavenly Father gives good gifts to His children (7:11 NLT).  Our all knowing and all wise God (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 3:20; Psalm 147:5 ESV) loves us and knows what is best for us — far more than we ever could. We also know that He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think or even, in our wildest dreams, imagine (Ephesians 3:20 NLT).

So – when God says, “No,” thank Him.  He saved you from less than His best!

Seriously!

Romans 8:32 (NLT) says, “Since he did not spare even His own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?”  What can even compare to the sacrifice of His Son?  The answer would be, “Nothing!

Sometimes when our earthly parents answered, “No,” we stamped our feet, pouted, rolled our eyes and had full blown hissy fits.  We begged, we pleaded, we made our case for why we ought to have what we asked for.  As adults, but especially as children of God, we should be sensitive to our Father’s answers and stop insisting on something that God has already refused to grant. God has not promised to answer every prayer with “Yes.” The Scriptures teach us that if we pray according to His will, He hears us and we can know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him (1 John 5:14-15 ESV). They may come in His timing rather than ours and they may not look like what we imagined, but He will answer.

And His answer will be His best for our best.

Thank you, God!

THIS WEEK thank God for loving you enough to answer, “No.”  Determine to not only be accepting of His answer but also grateful for His love which always answers best.