“No” Is Not Negative

Sometimes, when we come before God in the right manner–petitioning Him fervently, obediently, faithfully, humbly and persistently–the answer that we will receive will be, “No.”
God has said “No” to many before us and will continue to do so for those that may come after us. But “No” shouldn’t be viewed in a negative way.

Often we are unaware of how our request can and will impact our future and the plan of God, and we won’t understand why we got the response that we did. Perhaps, there will be a time in the future when we learn why things didn’t work out the way we thought they should have. But for the time being, we need to realize that God is completely and totally in charge of our life, and we can take solace and comfort in the fact that the right things are going to happen at the right time.

We need to view a seemingly negative answer in a positive way. God knows what is best for us. What He does, He does in love and for our own good. We need to have faith in this! When God says, “No,” it is for our growth and character. Innately, our hearts are deceitful and there is a way that seems right to us, but isn’t (Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 14:12). We need to trust God implicitly.

Instead of becoming upset, we need to look at going in a different direction; knock on other doors; move on with our life; and don’t become stuck in a quagmire of uncertainty. We ought to pray: “Teach me your ways, show me your path,” and then take any course corrections in stride.

God DOES hear the righteous (Psalm 34:15, 17). We need to keep in mind that in the end, God wants us to become immortal members in His Kingdom. He will do what it takes to make sure that we are successful. It is not necessary to live a life of luxury, but it is of paramount importance to build character purified by fire.

We should take every opportunity to glimpse into the mind of God and see what He wants for us. When we pray, we need to ask for the strength and wherewithal to accept, learn and move on when God says, “No.”