When God Says No

When God Says No

PCCWeb Daily
Tuesday, August 11, 2009

When God Says No
2 Corinthians 12:8, 9a - Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away
from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
made perfect in weakness." (NIV)

Sometimes God says "No."

Over the years, I have pleaded to God for the healing of others, the mending
of broken relationships, and the ability to overcome my problems
immediately, only to discover that God isn't going to do what I ask. It
comes as a shock to my system, for I'm so used to having God help me out.
So, like Paul, instead of dealing with it and letting it go, I pray over and
over again, thinking that God will eventually cave in and give me what I
want. In other words, I'm trying to make God bend His will towards mine.

Eventually, I accept what God has said, sometimes reluctantly, sometimes
with relief. God is not helping me out, but He is helping me. He's helping
me to understand that I'm not at the center of His universe. He's helping me
to realize that His grace is sufficient for everything I need, as opposed to
having His power to achieve everything I want. It's a hard lesson, but it
makes me more aware that He is the Sovereign of life, the universe, and
everything.

Perhaps some of us are struggling with God, and we want Him to sort out all
of our troubles. Perhaps, like me, we've approached Him time and time again
about a particular situation, person, or problem. Perhaps, we believe that
the time isn't right or that we just have to pray more, be more patient, or
have more faith. Let's think about what we're praying for and honestly ask
ourselves this question: "Has God already said 'No,' but I'm just not
listening?"

Prayer: Lord God, we pray for the gift of discernment, the ability to
understand each situation we experience. Help us to recognize and realize
that Your ways are not our ways and that Your thoughts are not our thoughts.
Teach us to be patient and enable us to take Your "No" as an answer to some
of our prayers. In Christ's name, we humbly pray. Amen.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand in
the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our
Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and
authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25

John Stuart
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA