Chaplain’s Column- When God Says “No.”
“God works all things together for good
to those who love him and are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Like
many of you I can recall many times in my life when I have heard the word “no.”
I remember in high school, I had a crush on a girl named Stacy. On the last day
of the school year, I asked for her phone number, and she told me “no, I will
be out of state for the Summer.” Ouch. I remember shortly after graduating
college I applied for a job I really wanted. Yep, you guessed it, nope. In both
instances I was hurt, confused, and angry. Per usual, I yelled at God and threw
a temper- tantrum. How could He tell me no?
I wish I could tell that I stopped
hearing “no” a long time ago. Negative. Being human, I ignored the multiple
times God has answered Yes and blessed me. The best example was when I asked
Jennifer to marry me and she said yes. I got a two-for-one blessing on that one
with my Stepdaughter, Allison.
But why does God tell us nope to things
that we really (think) we want or need? In Acts 16:6-9, the Apostle Paul was
set to travel to Asia Minor to preach, but God said “no.” At first, Paul
thought he understood God’s plan; and he again tried to travel through Asia,
but this time the Holy Spirit also told him “no.” Paul wanted to listen and
obey God, regardless of what he personally wanted. So, Paul left Asia Minor and
went into Macedonia instead. In Macedonia, Paul started churches that touched
the entire world. Paul had shown a different reaction to a “no” from God and
chose to obey God and redirect to another plan.
I think about our Confederate ancestors,
who experienced a great spiritual awakening in the camps and towns during the
war. They fought valiantly under terrible conditions and were outnumbered in
almost every battle. I am sure that when they fasted and prayed, they were
expecting a victory on the battlefield, fighting for their freedom. But, they,
too, were handed a “no.” They returned home to a decimated Southland. Homes
destroyed, many starved, or were forced to move to survive. They suffered the
indignity of “reconstruction” and occupation for over a dozen years.
But in that defeat, there was also a
victory for our ancestors. The men who had come to God in the battlefields and
camps during the war came home and started churches and revivals. The Word of
God spread throughout the South. Thanks to those men, today the South is known
as the “Bible Belt.”
It is hard for us to see God’s plan in
everything. When we suffer a setback or a defeat, or hear a “No” in our lives,
we can become angry and confused. Even worse, we can tell God that we will do
it our way. A wise man once said that “God laughs when we are making other
plans.” We must trust Him and be patient. Abraham had to wait 25 years (!). Not
only that, because he was impatient, God did not allow him to live to see the
“Promised Land.” As the Christian songwriter and singer, TobyMac tells us, “God
is our promised land.”
Finally, let us rejoice when God gives us
a “no” in our lives. Paul was spared a horrific death when God told him to not
go to Asia Minor. God was not done with him and needed him in the ministry and
in Macedonia. As we know now, Paul would go on to write 2/3 of the New
Testament, mentor Titus and Timothy and dozens of others to ministry. All
because he trusted God when he heard a “no.” and went to where God said “Yes!”
Amen.
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