Can you think of the last time you had hoped something would happen and it didn’t?
Go ahead and picture that something.
Was it the Kansas City Chiefs beating the New England Patriots?
Were you hoping that the temperature outside would be nice for once?
Did you hope for a snow day and wake up at 6 a.m. to realize you were still going to have to drive to school or work in agony?
Or maybe you prayed for God to give you something and He responded by not giving you what you had asked for.
That something could’ve been for Him to save someone we loved from a sickness. It could’ve been a prayer to bring a lost child home after being taken only to find He brought that child up to Heaven instead. Or maybe you prayed that God would show you some direction, and instead, you find yourself more lost each and every day.
God is straight-up telling you, “No.”
Why? Why would God want us to hurt? How could God be so loving and merciful and let something bad happen to us or someone else?
While I wish I had the answer to this, I don’t. And I don’t believe anyone else you’ll ever meet on this earth will be able to tell you what God thinks, either. What I do know, I’ll gladly share.
Starting off in 1 Corinthians 2:9 it says:
However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love Him.”
I immediately read this and think, “Okay, so I’m praying, I’m reading my Bible, I’m worshiping, I’m doing my best to be a light, I’m serving others, I clearly love you God, WHAT ELSE DOES YOU WANT?”
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Stepping away from Caps Lock and being a little upset with God, I have encountered God telling me “No” many more times than He’s told me “Yes” lately. Being completely open and honest, I sometimes question God. I question His authority and His will. I wonder if He really cares about what I pray about and what I see others praying for. While that seems very foolish and selfish of me, I have to believe that someone else has felt a similar feeling to what I’ve felt.
Every time I ask for God to put something into my life that I really want, I feel He shuts the door and says, “Nope, sorry. Still working on it. Come back later.”
What I often forget is all of the times God gave me a “yes”.
Sometimes I find myself expecting a never-ending supply of “yes” after God has begun giving me a large abundance of “yes”. It’s like I’m a 5 year-old at my birthday party, I get all these presents opened, and I either get one I don’t want or I don’t receive any more presents for a while. I just throw a little fit in my mind and I’m so confused.
Eventually, I took a look over into Isaiah 55:8-9:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
After reading this, I remembered that God is working on things that we can’t even see yet! When I try and comprehend how great God’s plans are, I think we have expectations that don’t even compare to what God has stored up for us.
All it takes is faith in knowing, believing, and trusting that God will open the door……….when HE is ready. Not just when we knock.
When it seems that God is giving us another “No”, we need to remind ourselves of the other blessings God has provided us with.
While you’re waiting for God to open the door and give you the “Yes” you’ve been hoping for, soak in this last verse, write it down on a piece of paper, and stick it somewhere so you can refer to it every time you feel like God gives you another “No”:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
Rejoice always! Never stop praying. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you.
Live, love, and be loved.
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