When God Says "No"

By Gobel Brockman

Are there certain words or phrases that immediately irritate you? I'm like that with a lot of adjectives. (I've long held the opinion that adjectives are just an excuse to talk more.) But there are certain words I hate to hear. I hate to hear someone say they're 'lonesome'. I get all tensed up inside when someone tells me to 'relax'. I know someone who just about has a stroke when someone uses 'don't' when the correct word is 'doesn't'.

But there's one word I think very few people like - NO. The thing is, it's one of the first words our parents teach us. I was watching one of those home video-type shows once. This toddler was being asked, "What's a dog say?" "Arff" "What's a cow say?" "Moo" "What's Mommy say?" "No no no..." The thing is, that ugly word sinks it teeth in and stays with us for life. NO, you didn't get the job. NO, your loan didn't go through. NO, I wouldn't go out with you on a bet. But what do we do when God says no? I've heard it said that God answers prayer one of three ways: Yes, Wait, and No. The No's really get us. We tempted to feel like asking, "OK, where do I go when there's nowhere else TO go?" Perhaps the following story may help:

There was a man who loved God with all of his heart praying in a garden one day. God had asked him to do something that was going to be difficult beyond words. He knew God loved him, but he also knew that God's will for him wasn't what HE wanted to go through. After much agonizing, and a lot of wrestling with God, he said a prayer that has become pretty well-known: "Not my will, but Thine be done..."

One of the biggest challenges we'll ever face as Christians is reaching the point of fully realizing that when God says 'No' that somewhere, somehow, He has a reason. Maybe a 'Yes' now would ruin an even greater 'Yes' He was planning on giving me later. Maybe a 'Yes' would actually do me more harm than good, and I just don't realize it yet. (That's happened to me on several occasions. Here's hoping I learn my lesson one day.) I think the question really becomes this: Do I REALLY trust that God knows what He's doing? Do I believe He has my best interests at heart? If so, I need to learn the prayer of that guy in that garden.