Oh the notorious phrase we simply do not enjoy hearing,
"No."
As a child, I gained great wisdom from the most simple children's book of all time, "No, David!" It's a not-so-glamorous story of a child who constantly defiles his mother, thus leading to the repetitive phrase throughout the book, "No, David!" Honestly, I think many of us feel like this with God.
So this one goes out to you, person who believes their life narrative is titled "No, (insert name here)!"
Sometimes God simply does not put wind in our sails.
Believe it or not, we build sailboats all of the time. Figurative sailboats, of course. Sailboats called "a job opportunity" or "a passing grade in Anatomy." Maybe your sailboat is called "my college degree" or "my future career path." Sometimes we build beautiful ones and we want them to take off and sail with everything we have, but sometimes they simply just do not. It’s not because they aren’t built well enough, because we forgot a sail, or because we did not spend enough time building it. We could have spent days, weeks, or years building it, but sail boats don’t work without wind. They stay stagnant; sitting absolutely still in their harbor.
Where you build your sailboat and where you pour your heart are unified important things, but the wind God provides is the most important.
God’s direction, or His wind, is what moves sailboats.
Where does HE want us? Where will His wind guide us? God ultimately knows what’s best and we just have to let go and sail. The improvements we keep adding to our boats won’t change the fact that there is no wind. God sets our boats off ONLY if they go where He wants them to go. Isn't that the most reassuring thing?
This past year God has taught me such a mighty lesson, which is probably the hardest lesson I have ever had to learn.
I have learned to trust God and leave behind a few boats I built from the bottom up because there is simply no wind. Because God simply said "no." I have learned to pick up the pieces and move on. But at our most hopeless times, we must remember that God provides us with the tools we need to build another. This time for me, I will build the boat where He wants me to build it.
I have learned that prayer can move mountains. When there is no "wind in our sails," we must turn to prayer.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." 1 John 5:14
As Christians, we hear this phrase oh so often, "prayer is the most powerful thing," but I often forget how powerful prayer is. Also, I’ve learned to be content with God's answers, even when He says no. God only says no because He has better plans.
Sometimes we are brought to rock bottom to remind us that we need Him. That no matter how big we build our boat, His wind is the only thing that can set it off. We need the Creator. I want to guide my life sometimes, but the first word in that sentence is the reason why God simply said no. Our life is in accordance to God’s timing and His control, I'd honestly much rather have the Man who knows everything guide my boat than me who is blinder than blind when it comes to navigating life.
When God personally did not put the wind in my sails, I got a glimpse of what God goes through when He looks at humanity. We blindly try taking control of our lives and we fail time and time again, yet grace freely flows from Him because He is good.
Sometimes God calls us to leave our sailboats behind, sometimes He calls us to wait on His timing, and sometimes He simply says yes and our boats take off full-throttle. But if God said no, that doesn't mean your life narrative should be titled "No, (insert your name here)!" There is no doubt that the lack of wind in our sails causes us to feel hopeless or hurt. The last lesson I have learned is that hurt heals with time, with love from above, and with endless amounts of faith. The damage scars but scar tissue is stronger. Scar tissue ensures that the next cut won’t be as bad. Scar tissue makes for a great story. Wounds make stories of hurt, scars make stories of healing. God heals us, makes us stronger, and gives us a beautiful story to shout to the world. To trust in Him because He heals and He navigates.
"From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalms 61:2
