I know that God is always right, and His ways are perfect. However, this did not change what my flesh and intellect had planned out. I thought my logic was good. I thought my ideas were doable. Yet, God said no.
Of course, I prayed for God's direction. Yet, in the next breath, I also prayed for God to bless my plans. Don’t act so surprised. I know plenty of others who have done the exact same thing! I am a very detailed person, and so were my prayers and plans, which went something along these lines, “God, if you do this, then I will do that, or "God, here's what I think should happen, or…” God, I promise this time...."
When God said no, but I wanted yes, I had to decide. How was I going to respond to God’s no?
So, I thought about it. I would like to tell you that I quickly dropped my plans and happily went along with His plans, but truthfully, that is not what happened. Instead, I whined. I pouted. I cried. I questioned God. I doubted myself. I tried to convince myself that I was wrong in my interpretation of what God had clearly shown me. I know these are not correct Christian responses, but that is what really happened. Now that I had responded as such (which by the way was relatively immature), what was I going to actually do with God's no? Accept His answer or proceed with my very thought out plans? First, I had to remind myself of a few things:
God is Sovereign- He can do whatever He so desires just because, and no explanation or approval is needed.
God is omnipresent- He is always everywhere at the same time all day, all night, every day.
God is omnipotent- All power, in heaven, and in the earth and even in outer space belongs to Him.
God is God, and His plans for me are flawless.
I didn't have to agree nor understand why His answer was no.
I did, however, have to face the reality of the following:
When God says no, there’s a better reason for His no than for my yes.
God’s no did not mean He was mad at me.
God’s no did not mean I did anything wrong.
God’s no today may not always be no in the future. My timing could be off.
God’s no should swiftly override my yes every single time.
Considering all these things, I told myself, “Girl, just chill, trust, and obey God!” Although I consider myself an intelligent person, God is on an entirely different level, no comparison at all. But why does God sometimes tell us no? There are many reasons for this; one of them is that we do not always know what is best for us. God loves us too much to give us things that He knows would be detrimental. God sees the entire picture, and He is always working on our behalf. I’m slowly learning to chill, trust, and obey. When I look back at times in my life when God said no, but I wanted yes,
guess what? God was right, and I am glad things did not go as I thought I had wanted.
That person was not a true friend.
That was not a good relationship for me to be involved.
That job was not the one for me.
That house was not the best one for my family.
I could go on and on but hopefully, you get the point. Repeat out loud;
CHILL
TRUST
OBEY
What about you? Has there ever been a time in your life when God said no, but you wanted yes? If so, how did you respond?
With all your heart, you must trust the Lord and not your own judgment.
Always let Him lead you, and He will clear the road for you to follow.
Don’t ever think that you are wise enough,
but respect the Lord and stay away from evil. Prov. 3:5-7CEV