When God says, “No.” (8/3/17 Standalone)

Tim Keller is a pastor in New York City working with mostly young professionals. He said something about prayer that’s fascinating. He said “We can be sure our prayers are answered precisely in the way we would want them to be answered if we knew everything God knows.” In other words, all those times God said “no” to our prayers, we would also say “no” to if we knew what God knew. God has something good in mind even though we cannot see any way a good could come from it. Like the missionary family that was killed a year ago this week. A young couple dedicated themselves to be missionaries to Japan with 3 young children – 3, 2, and a new born. Imagine how difficult that decision might have been. But after years of praying and preparing, they were on their way to the last training center before they were to fly out to Japan, but they were struck by a truck from behind and all of them were killed. How could that possibly be good? Why would God allow that? Think of how much good they could’ve done in japan for the name of God. Think of the lives they could’ve touched. What of their precious kids that are just starting out in life? Contrast that with all the evil people in the world that live on and on… Do we believe God’s saying “no” to that family and taking them home early had a good purpose in it?

Trusting God means believing that He has our best interest in mind not only in good times but also in tough times. Anyone can be a happy when things are going well. But what about when God says no to our prayers and we are in the trenches? How we accept God’s “no” shows our level of trust and dependency on God. Being God’s children means that we take his “yes’s” as well as “no’s”. If my children ever said to us, “mom, dad, I will only be your child if you say only yes to everything I ask you.” Well, what you want is a bellhop or a housemaid and not a parent. I’m sorry I love you too much to ruin you that way. (Parenting advice for you. If you want to ruin your children, give them everything they want) So, God in His love and infinite wisdom, says “no” to us at times.

When God says “no.” What are we to make of it?

1. He has His own glory in mind

When Lazarus, Jesus’ good friend died, Mary and Martha, who were the dead man’s sisters said to Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died!” In other words, “Jesus, if you loved him, why did you let him die?” And this is what Jesus says to them: John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.d Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” In other words, Jesus wanted the sisters and those around to know that He had the power of life and death. It was so that He would be glorified – or seen as more important than even loving or dying – that he let Lazarus die.

In another encounter with a blind man, when the disciples ask him, why was this man born blind? Was it his fault or his parents’ fault. And he says, “Neither, it was to show God’s glory that he was born blind.” And he proceeds to heal him. So, in both cases, unfortunate events took place and God allowed them so that He will be glorified. God said “no” to mary and martha. God allowed a man to be born, so that they can realize someone who is greater than life and death is here. In their minds, death was absolute. Everyone succombs to death. Death is undefeated. But it is not. Jesus is greater than death. He has beaten it and will beat it again so that death will die. And that is what Jesus wanted to show mary and martha. And to the blind man. And to you and me. So that we would take our eyes off inevitability of death and on Jesus. A greater glory through what we would consider unfortunate events.

I know this is hard to hear because we want to make our lives easier, more comfortable, successful, not harder! God will at times bring us to the brink of death for our sake.. or he will bring us to death for His sake. Death is not the greatest evil. Hell is!

“But, pastor, Jesus didn’t do that for me and my family. I lost a family member and he didn’t raise her from the dead.” And Jesus didn’t raise everyone from the dead either while he was on earth. Remember, John the baptist, his cousin, who was beheaded? He could’ve raised him from the dead, but He didn’t. Jesus did on earth for a few people what he will do for everyone eventually. He will raise your loved one from the dead, one day. He will heal us of all diseases one day, either in this life for some or the next for all who trust in Him.

 

2. The alternative is worse for us

And then consider the possible atlernative. What if God didn’t say “no”? What could’ve happened? I think often times, we get so focused on what we could gain if God said yes to our request that we lose sight of what we could lose if he said yes.

The Apostle Paul prayed 3 times for the thorn in the flesh to be removed and God said no each time. The bible scholars think it was some kind of physical deformity or illness he suffered and paul probably thought that if he could be spared of that illness, he will be more effective for the Lord. Because he was type A personality who couldn’t sit still and had to move around and do something for the Lord at all times but this thorn in the flesh wasn’t letting him to do it. But he recognizes the reason for it. He said, “it was to keep me humble that God did not remove the thorn.” Had God answered his prayer and removed it, he might have been so arrogant and pompus that he could’ve undone all the years of work that he had amassed for the Lord. How many pastors or evangelists we hear of that built an empire but b/c their success went to their head, they faced such humility and more importantly brought a bad name to God? So, Paul was grateful that God said no because the alternative could be really bad.

So, a heart that trusts God is the heart that says “thank you” when God says no. ILL: On our trip to Thailand last month, we wanted to go to Myanmar next really badly but god said no. We could be bitter and question the whole thing, but we had some veteran members in our team who guided us to think immediately about else God has in store. We concluded God really wanted us to go to the patji village…

I think it’s when we hold onto things so tightly and insist on it that we get burned and disappointed by God to the point of leaving our faith. My business must survive. My child must get better. I must get into that school or else.  

ILL: joni ereckson tada became paralyzed from neck down through a diving accident at the tender age of 17. She prayed for a miracle. Even went to faith healing services. She spent 5 decades in a wheelchair. Someone has to brush her teeth every morning and evening, and put make up on her, feed her food, etc. But she says that if it hadn’t been for that accident, she would not have been able to do for the kingdom she did – a popular christian speaker, writer, non-profit organization leader… doing more for God as a quadraplegic than a whole person ever could…

 

3. He’s leading us to trust Him

– my ways are not your ways, as the heaven is higher than the earth… it would be great if God would explain everything to us to put us at ease. I think in some ways, He does, through the word and our experience – parent, child relationships. But there are times He doesn’t just like when we tell our children, you just have to trust us b/c even if we ty to explain, you won’t understand. How frustrating would it be for us if they said, “no. I won’t listen until you explain it and it makes sense to me!” What they are saying is “I don’t believe you. I don’t trust your judgement, so tell me the reason and I will determine for myself whether the reason is valid!”

So God says things like “God works all things for the good of those who loves him.” to assure us to trust Him. or “You meant evil but god meant it for God.” through Joseph as he was addressing his evil brothers. Or “My ways are not your ways, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways higher than your ways…”  We do not have all the information that God does. We simply must trust that He has what’s best for us in mind if He did not spare His own son for us.

Trust God through thick and thin. Remember your wedding vows, those who are married? Until death do us apart? Make that vow to God. Not only when things are going well will you trust Him, but when God says no and he’s seemingly leading you to the valley of the shadow of death, He is molding you and shaping you because God is more interested in making you become rather than giving you stuff. Internal rather than external.

What if we thought like this: My current circumstance is the best that it could be or leading up to the best it could be. You know what that means? That dream that you prayed about and strived for all these years and didn’t get realized? Thank God for it because if your dream was realized, you’d been worse off. That man or woman you thought you were going to marry and he dumped you, thank God because you’d been miserable if you stayed in the relationship. That school that you dreamed of going but got a rejection letter from? You’d been worse off if you got accepted.

CONC: God will say to “no” to His children because He loves them. So, understand when He says “no,” He has His glory in mind first of us. And that’s a good thing, and not a selfish thing because when He is glorified, we receive the maximum benefit. And then consider the alternative. In our limited wisdom, we think getting what we want is better than what God wants. But God won’t give us what we want at times because not getting it will be even better for us. He has something else better in mind. In all this, God is teaching us to trust Him. In what area of your life, are you questioning God’s wisdom or motive? Would you at this time thank God even for those areas or those times? “God works ALL things for the good of those who love HIm, who have been called according to His purpose…”