When God Says No

How many times have we heard this statement: “God always answers prayers. Sometimes He says ‘Yes.’ Sometimes He says, ‘No.’ Most of the time He says, ‘Wait.’” We like those “YES” answers, especially if we think there is some benefit involved for us. What I am growing to realize as I grow in Him is that all answers benefit us, because God is always working for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). If we are honest, we will acknowledge that it is our reactions to “Wait” and to “No” that make us miserable creatures, not God’s answer. I have lost track of the times when “Wait” and “No” saved me immeasurable heartbreak.

Regarding “No”, there are at least two reasons mentioned in the Bible that explain why God does not grant our wishes. They can be found in the stories of God’s servant Moses, “who knew God face to face”, and in God’s servant David, “a man after God’s own heart.” Both Biblical characterizations imply that Moses and David knew God intimately and were more interested in God’s will, rather than their own, being accomplished. In seeking answers to how God dealt with His servants of the past, we gain insight into how He deals with His servants of the present, giving us His wisdom as we endeavor to be His vessels in helping shape His servants of the future.

If we remember, Moses, a man of incredible humility refined through years of shaping and grooming him for the role of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, walked so closely with God that the dissension and rebellion of the Israelites against God hurt and disturbed Moses immensely. Yet as humble and as faithful as Moses was, he was not perfect, and if we examine his biography closely, we learn that the Bible records several examples of Moses’ struggle with the display and the aftermath of his anger. Anger is an all-consuming passion which gets the best of us all. It is his failure to temper that anger that led to Moses’ act of disobedience to God, and the consequence of that disobedience was the negation of physically accompanying the Israelites into the Promised Land. Dig into Numbers and learn the particulars surrounding this event, but take note that it was Moses’ disobedience which garnered God’s holy response, “No.”
Many times God tells us “No” because we have present or past sins in our lives that we’ve not cleared with Him. It is an amazing thing to learn that we grieve God daily with sins of which we are unaware because we don’t know the Scriptures well enough to know what displeases our holy, perfect God. With all of the grace and mercy He shows us, we often forget just how incredibly holy He is, and we take for granted His blessing of our minimal efforts to serve and know Him.
Yet, we are accountable not just for what we know He wants us to do and believe, but for what Scripture tells us regarding holy living. If we are unaware of any imperfection in our walk with Christ, we must ask God to reveal it to us so that we may confess and repent. Otherwise, we may continue to be baffled by God’s repeated “No.” I shudder to think that one deliberate act of disobedience on the part of Moses, a revered, “almost saint” of God, denied him a “Yes” answer in entering the Promised Land. If Moses, who walked so closely with God, could fall in such a devastating way, certainly we are all susceptible to the same thing, be us servant leaders in the forefront or in the background of God’s plan in motion. Moses humbly repented, and God embraced him with forgiveness, but the consequences of his sin remained, as do ours.

Sometimes, however, God says “No”, not because of our disobedience, but because He envisions our request to be a task not for us, but for another person to accomplish. King David, who made more than his fair share of costly mistakes, had a vision of doing something very beautiful and very fitting for God. He wanted to build an incredibly majestic Temple in which to house God’s presence in the midst of the community. Having traveled among the Israelites in the form of a mobile Ark, it was time for God to have a more permanent residence as God blessed Jerusalem with strength. Yet as preciously sensitive as this request was, God told David “No” not because of any direct disobedience connected to the Temple on David’s behalf, but because God had in mind for David’s son, Solomon, to build the Temple.

God actually cradled David with a compliment: “Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.” (2 Chronicles 6:7-9). In other words, God assured him, “David, I am completely touched that you wanted to honor me in this way.” God had a perfect plan for David’s life in promoting him from shepherd boy to king of Israel, but building a Temple–even for a good reason– was not part of that plan.

David’s response, which can be found in 2nd Samuel and 1st and 2nd Chronicles is an example to us all. He fell on his knees, humbling himself before God’s wisdom and judgment, and praised God for honoring “his servant David and his family” in the ways that He had. He also went above and beyond the call of duty by doing everything possible to gather the necessary materials so that Solomon would want for nothing in fulfilling God’s plan for him to build the Temple.
How often do we “gather the materials” for our successors or for others who, through which, God will accomplish His plan? It’s amazing how much can be accomplished when you don’t care who gets the credit! In our shallow, self-seeking society, how well served we would be if we learned to obey Proverbs 3:27: “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.” We can know that, when God tells us “No”, He who is daily accomplishing His plan step by step, has a marvelous reason why!

A multitude of lessons are to be learned from examining the lives of Moses and David. Learning to accept “No” with grace and humility is one of the greatest. Because of all He has done for us each in the past, we can trust without faltering that our days of unknown rest securely in the palm of His unchanging, all-encompassing palm of love.

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Coming of the Sun!
“You will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is fixed on You because (she) trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

Wilmore, Kentucky, home of Asbury Theological Seminary and site of one of the greatest spiritual revivals America has ever known, possesses the nickname, “The Holy City”, yet there are skunks everywhere! They never show up in the same place; their sightings are totally unpredictable! I’ve seen them sidling down Gillespie Street between the parked cars, sauntering across the walking track at the Luce Activity Center, rifling through the trashcans on the sidewalk in a nearby neighborhood (I didn’t even know they could climb!), and dashing, more like waddling, across the street from the Wilmore Mini Park to the campus. My only personal recollection of skunks is that, as a teenager, my late father put one to sleep, removed its scent gland, and adopted it as a pet! How I wish he could partake of such ripe surroundings!!

One September morning, just as I rounded the corner after my walk, I realized I hadn’t seen any skunks. Then, “Voila!”…one appeared, at the same time as the sunrise broke through. Once I got over the initial shock of the audacity of this nocturnal creature who dared to borrow a page of the day’s calendar, I noticed the fact that the glistening glory of our Heavenly sunrise was captivating to the point of speechlessness as it unfurled its rosy hues across the expanding horizon. Certainly a more beckoning sight than keeping my eyes on the far away skunk, which potentially affected only a miniscule area of influence, I saw the latest spiritual “skunk lesson”: “Will my eyes be fixed on the sunrise or on the ‘skunkfall’?”

Weeks ago, when I first learned of various skunk sightings, I’d begin my early morning prayer-walk regrettably fearful of what might lurk ahead. How odd to be outside, fearing a four-legged striped creature a fraction of my size, rather than having a more natural fear of those elements which could truly potentially harm me! How could I so easily enjoy God’s company, feeling His daily protection from the big things, but become trapped in the whirlpool of doubt in regard to the little ones? And, as always, when dealing with skunks, it was more accurately a sad reflection of “What would people think?” rather than suffering an actual painful experience! I realized I was gathering a list of “skunk lessons” that God intended for me to learn.

It’s very simple. I can go around looking for skunks, fearing skunks, and spend countless anxious moments anticipating what I would do post-skunk attack, or I can live my life with faith and joy in our new “home away from home”, absorbing its blessings, and trusting God to help me dodge the skunks that cross my path, regardless of their form. He has done this four times physically, and countless times metaphorically! It is sad but true that, even in “The Holy City”, skunks pose a threat. This is an extreme example of the fallen nature of mankind, for serpents lurked in Eden after the Fall, as well. But it is up to me to choose each day where my eyes will settle.

“Father, just for today, will You please be the Lord of my thoughts as well as my actions? Will You remind me that the battle is in my mind, and that You have asked me to fix my thoughts on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy? Will You continue to help me be still and know You are God, helping me take every thought captive in order to make it obedient to Christ? Thank You for continuing the good work You have begun in me. I love You, Daddy! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”