When God Says No
What do you do when God says “no?” When you want to move ahead, sometimes God will say “wait.” Those are the times when we discover that our thoughts are not God’s thoughts and our ways are not God’s ways. Who’s Sovreign, me or God?
In Matthew 26, Jesus had just shared the “Last Supper” with his disciples. He told them what would happen over the next few days… That he would be crucified and then be resurrected from the dead. Jesus went to pray in the Garden of Gethsamane. In verses 26 and following:
“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”
When we face the fires of life, we need our brothers for comfort, encouragement and the fellowship of like minded believers. Men need to bond face to face for edification and encouragement.
Jesus’ soul was deeply grieved. The devil and his minions had arrayed against him. Jesus prayed to his father, “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” The cup was the wrath of God for the sin of the world. It is he cup of sin and death which is separation from God.
When he returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping. Jesus had brought Peter, James and John so that they could be bound together in fellowship. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. He returned three times to find them sleeping. The warning is “watch and pray.”
Sometimes God’s answer when we pray is not what we want to hear. When Pete asked God to allow him to take his wife on their 50th anniversary river cruise, God’s answer was “no.” When God asked Pete and Suzan, “can I trust you with a brain tumor,” they needed to come to an understanding of what it meant to Trust God. God does so many things when he says “no” to teach what’s really important in this life.
The Apostle Paul said that because of the abundance of the revelation that God had given him, God sent him a “thorn in the flesh” a messenger of Satan to keep him humble. God allows thorns in the flesh to keep us broken so that we will come to him with a contrite heart. Only then can we will learn that “thy strength is made perfect in my weakness, thy grace is sufficient for me.”
Trials of life teach us what’s really important in life. When faced with trials, is our response “grumbling and complaining?” If this is our response, then this is our calling to repent. All God asks is a heart of awe and gratitude. Like the song says, “thank God for unanswered prayer.”
In the Garden of Gethsamane, Jesus as the “son of man” asked the question, “if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me.” Jesus knew the answer to the question before he asked it. He knew the purpose for which his Father had called him. Prayer is not aligning God’s will with my will. Rather, it’s aligning my will with God’s will. The answer to Jesus’ prayer is in the book of Hebrews: “he for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down upon the right hand of the throne of God. The joy set before him was your salvation and mine. What amazing grace!
If God has you in a holding pattern, thank him for teaching you what it means to “wait upon the Lord. May our pray be, “nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.”
May God richly bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael