When God Says No

This week has been challenging for me and with a disappointed heart I found myself unable to write. A week ago I challenged myself to pray my own advice, seeking God's will in the outcome of the battle I was in, and I added parameters to hold myself accountable to His answer. As soon as I prayed this prayer I was filled with anxious thoughts and I felt certain I had made a mistake. Praying isn't a mistake, but in praying specifically I had opened myself up to confronting God's will, potentially in opposition to my own. If this battle weren't important to me then this prayer would have been easy, but this battle came from the recesses of my heart. The only thing I desired was God's yes in my participation in this battle and ultimately my victory in this battle. 

Unfortunately, every day this week I woke and went to bed filled with disappointment. I continued to pray, but the context of my prayers had shifted. I couldn't pray to change God's mind and I couldn't pray for the victory I desired because I needed to be open to God's will for this battle. I needed to pray, but I felt restricted and instead I prayed for the people involved in this battle. I prayed repeatedly for their well being and my own well being. The closer I came to the end of the time, given by the parameters of the original prayer, the more I prayed for my strength and understanding in the inevitable no that I was facing. This wasn't easy because I wanted to pray specifically for what my heart most desired, but I exercised control and prayed differently as I waited for God's answer. 

It was during this time that I came to understand exactly what it meant when God said no. This week I have been facing God's no and I really couldn't understand the purpose, but then I realized that in a no there are two possibilities. First, God is telling us no because He has something better for us or is preventing us from harm. If there is someone in our lives that has the potential to harm us then God is protecting us when He says no and removes them from our lives. Often this type of no is given in the context of a child, who desperately wants their toy fixed, but is afraid to let the toy go. It is only when the child lets the toy go that the toy is either repaired or the child is given a new toy, either way the outcome is better for the child. Personally, this type of no is difficult for me to accept because I like to believe that I know what is best for me and that what I desire is the best there is. This is faulty thinking since God is the only one capable of knowing what is best for each of us. 

The second type of no is much easier to imagine and accept because it is more of a not now rather than a no. This second no is the product of spiritual warfare over the outcome of our prayer. Satan is fighting on one side, his ultimate goal is to destroy you, and God is fighting on the other side, His ultimate goal is to prosper you. As you are waiting, assuming the answer is no, there is a battle happening over your answer and it is the battle itself that delays your answer. If this is your no then you can rest in the comfort that God is fighting your battle for you and the victory has been won. Again, this is not really a no and more of a not now, but because it feels like a no I think it is important to reference it when it feels God is telling you no.

When God is saying no, He is either promising something better or making us wait while He is fighting for us. Our response to God's no is important because it sets the stage for our future blessings. Until we are able to see His answer clearly, we are unable to distinguish a "No, I have something better for you," from "Not now, I am fighting for you," and must treat the answer given us as a no and respond accordingly. This week I was in this place, somewhere between a no and a not now, and I was disappointed. I wanted to ignore God's answer and to continue the battle as if nothing had happened, but I knew that would be foolish on my part because disobedience delays blessings. In the midst of my struggles, I prayed for strength and for wisdom. I prayed, giving full vent to everything I was feeling, and then made the decision to find a way to be obedient to God. I still had time in my given parameters and I would use this time to grieve, but that at the end, if the answer was still no, that I would move forward obedient to God. That was my prayer and if you are facing a no then I pray that you pray a similar prayer because God will give you understanding and will help you see why He is saying no. 

Journey to Bethlehem: An Advent Challenge

Day 18: Read Luke 2:19-21

Shepherds Hear About Jesus

Luke 2:19-21 states that Mary treasured these things (the words of the shepherds) and continued to think about them. After the shepherds told the people what they had heard about the baby, the shepherds returned to their sheep praising God and thanking him for everything they had seen and heard. Everything had been just as the angel had told them. When the baby was eight days old he was circumcised and given the name Jesus. This was the name given by the angel before the baby began to grow inside Mary.

The words of the shepherds were valuable to Mary because their words confirmed what she had already been told by the angel before she became pregnant with Jesus. Her son was really someone special and was indeed the Savior of her people. The words she treasured were God's truths that were being carried out through her son. God wants us to treasure His truth and to continue to think on the truth He has revealed to us that we might not forget. Truth has the potential to set us free, but the problem is that often we forget the truth in the thick of a crisis. Forgetting the truth causes us to become vulnerable and to even fall prey to the schemes of Satan. Take Adam and Eve: they forgot the truth about God and this caused them to believe Satan's lies about God, which had devastating consequences for all human beings. If Adam and Eve had focused on God's truth then we wouldn't have sin and our world would be a very different place. The reality is that there are consequences to our thoughts, or lack thereof, and that God desires us to be like Mary, thinking on the truth of Him. 

This passage also reminds us that praising God shouldn't end after the moment or event that brought us to give praise, but should continue as we continue on with our lives. The shepherds left Jesus, but continued to praise God for allowing them to see and hear everything just as the angel had said. God didn't have to send His angel to tell the shepherds the good news, ultimately inviting them to share in this miraculous moment, but He did and the shepherds seem to have recognized the blessing God has bestowed on them. Their example of continued praise is one that we rightly should follow in our own celebrations of blessings. 

Enclosed in this passage there is also a reminder of the importance of completing our part in fulfilling God's prophecies. The angel told Mary about the prophecy that would be fulfilled in her and told her that her son's name would be Jesus. God would take care of the pregnancy and would fill her with the Holy Spirit allowing her to conceive God's son, but Mary had to also do her part, which was to name the baby Jesus. If Mary had decided to name the baby Joseph or another name common in her family then the prophecy would not have been fulfilled. Granted, God could have established the completion of His prophecy is another way, but He prefers that we are obedient in our part. When God chooses to  complete His will through our lives it is important that we then choose to obediently do our part that it would be completed.

It Is Better To Obey

"But Samuel answered, 'What pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obedience to His voice? It is better to obey than to sacrifice. It is better to listen to God then to offer the fat of sheep.'" 

1 Samuel 15:22

Saul thought he had obeyed God or rather he thought he knew what God really meant when He commanded Saul to kill every living thing of the Amalekites. Saul disobeyed God and kept the king, along with the best cattle and sheep. When he was confronted about his disobedience, he argued he had been obedient and offered the animals as a sacrifice to God. Yet, God clearly said "leave no living thing." Saul's argument is proof of his disobedience. His intentions may have been honorable, but he still disobeyed God. Samuel explains this to Saul, stating, "it is better to obey than to sacrifice." 

I think this passage is interesting because we tend to be like Saul in this moment. We read scripture and we interpret it the way we want. We assume we know what God really meant when He said X, Y, or Z in the Bible. God did not invite us to interpret His word, but instead to read it and then to live it. Not every passage is straight forward in present times because it was written in a different culture with different expectations for understanding, but these passages can be understood when you study the Bible, as well as its history. The point is when God commands us to do something we need to obey every word and not just what we feel is right. This type of thinking [assuming we know what God meant] is what cost Saul his kingship in Israel.