Sometimes God says No!

Deuteronomy 3:24-28 - "O Sovereign LORD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?  Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan--that fine hill country and Lebanon."  But because of you the LORD was angry with me and would not listen to me. "That is enough," the LORD said. "Do not speak to me anymore about this matter.  Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see."

 

Moses had so much to remind the Israelites he had led for forty years…some pieces were delivered because God told him they were important… this piece of the story was personal.  He wanted to make sure they knew why he would not be going with them.  He had messed up…really bad once…and God had delivered a judgment…that even the great prayer warrior Moses could not change.  He simply would not get to touch his feet on the land of promise...only his eyes would behold it from the top of the mountain.

 

Sometimes God says no…our prayer can be the greatest…most heartfelt prayer we have ever prayed…sweat drops of blood can flow from our brow from the pressure…but God the father will say no. He said no to Moses…he said no to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 ….just like he said no to his own son that night in the garden…when he prayed for the heavy cup of death to be taken from him in Luke 22. 

 

He told me no once…and I may never understand the reasons….for I can see myself beating the wall in heavy tears and angry voice…the night I asked God to save my Mitchell. They kept working on him after he coded…and I was so sure for the first few minutes that he would come back to me. I prayed quietly for strength to just wait on God to do it in his time.  But as the moments turned into more than a few…I turned bitterly to the wall in great sobs and begged God to let him stay….but he said no…and my sweet Mitchell flew into the arms of the savior.

 

Sometimes God says no…for he alone sees the big picture.  God knew that Moses had trained Joshua for this moment….God knew that Moses had finished what the work he had sent him to do… God knew that the first steps in Heaven would far outweigh a few in the promised land.  God’s vision for our lives fits into a perfect picture…that only he can see full frame.  We must reach out to him on faith…and simply accept the times he says no… or just wait….as easily as we praise him for the yes answers he gives each day of our lives.

 

God knew that I would turn to him for strength when he carried Mitchell into his arms…and I would begin to build a relationship with him that has supported me in every other moment of my life since. I am trying to let go of the beauty and happiness of those moments together…and move forward into whatever work God is calling me too. It is hard…but yet sometimes is it so wonderful…to just rest in the father and watch how he is changing me into a creature who is able to accept the no’s…..along with the yes’s…and the just wait’s!

 

I am so thankful that God told Jesus no that night in the garden...for his pain and suffering gave me a chance to know his father. I am so glad that God infused him instead with the strength to endure that time on the cross…so he could rise victorious over Satan.  For me…that is really what Christmas is about…the whole picture…from his birthday we are celebrating this wonderful morning…to the death on the cross...and his resurrection that saves us all from any sin. That is the whole picture….that gives us all a choice….of a full life with the father...son…and holy spirit.

 

Thank you God for Moses…and Paul….and your son…and the times you told them all no. Help me to really listen to you when you say no…and accept it as a way to know you more.  Give me the discernment to know when to ask you for change…and when to accept the things that you need me to endure…to build me into the servant you need me to be…or to just be obedient like your son was. Happy Birthday Jesus…I hope you have a great party up there today. May the world offer you gifts of peace…and goodwill toward all men…and begin to pray for our nation to be healed.  May we come together to ask for a great revival…a union of all the people who believe…so we can save a few more of those that have turned away from you. Amen.