When you ask God a question, He has three answers- yes, no, and wait.
For the past several months, I have been asking God the same question about the same situation and about whether I should go for it or not. I had fasted and prayed. I had cried out to God in confusion. It took me being at a retreat, going to the alter, and surrendering my heart to the Lord to finally receive my answer.
No.
My answer was no. This was most definitely not the answer I wanted. I wanted my yes. I wanted what I wanted. However, I knew that this was from the Lord and at this point, there was no denying His involvement.
I tried to wrap my mind around what the Lord was telling me to give up by saying no. I tried to convince myself that the Lord wasn't really speaking to me. I told myself that there was no way the Lord would want me to endure the pain of this no. There was no way He would want me to experience such heartbreak. Why would God, my Heavenly Father, ask me to do such a thing? Why would He allow such sorrow?
Because He loves me and He knows what's best.
Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “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."
Sometimes we spend so much time seeking after the Lord's answer, hoping that He will give us the answer that we so desire, that we miss when He actually does reveal to us the truth. We suffer from confirmation bias, only looking at what confirms what we want and what we believe. We consciously choose to neglect what differs from that.
This was me. I believe the Lord had revealed this no to me on previous occasions, but I was just unwilling to listen. I was unwilling to trust that His plans were greater than my own. I was unwilling to put my faith in Him, so I put it in myself. I thought that if I executed things a certain way, that I could change this no to a yes.
However, when we try to do things in our own power, it does not work. This is what I have learned time after time again. Only through prayer and God's power are mountains moved and hearts changed.
The truth is that God does not want to see us in pain. He hates seeing His children in pain, as any father would. He doesn't desire for us to suffer. However, in life, He still has to say no and this no may be painful. But by saying no to one thing, He is saying yes to something else. He sees the big picture. He sees where that no will lead. He sees what will grow out of that no. He sees what great things and what great opportunities will be produced from that no. Those great opportunities are what God is saying yes to.
Right now this no may seem like the end of the world. It may feel like a door has been slammed in your face and that you'll never find a door quite like this one. You'll never find a door that you'll want to walk through like you want to walk through the one that has just been slammed in your face.
The truth is that there are other doors out there. God has great and amazing doors for you to walk through that you cannot even imagine right now in your sorrow. But they are there. You just have to walk away from the closed door with a willing heart. You must have a heart that is willing to accept whatever the Lord has in store for you. You have to have a heart that is willing to walk away from or walk to whatever door is set before you.
"Every second you spend wishing God would take away a struggle is a forfeited opportunity to overcome." -Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church
I find myself wishing and praying that God would change His mind. I want Him to tell me yes. Go for it. Just do it. Follow your heart. That would be easier, right? That would be less painful, right? But then I am reminded of how worthy the God I serve is. He is so worthy of my sacrifice. He is worthy of me accepting His no, no matter how difficult that may be. This is my opportunity to overcome. This is my opportunity to build my faith and trust in the Lord.
When God says no, He also says yes. Yes, this will build your faith. Yes, this will be used so that you can have a testimony to share with others. Yes, I am using this to grow you and make you into the man or woman of God that I want you to be. Yes, other opportunities will come. Yes, you'll be okay again. In fact, one day, you'll be better than you've ever been. Yes, I will take care of you and be with you every step of the way. Yes, I love you.
Take God's no and take it as a yes. It may not be the yes that you want right now in this very moment, but one day it will be. Remind yourself of what the Lord has brought you through in the past to remind yourself of what He will continue to do for you in the future.
