I listened to a podcast yesterday where the discussion was on superstition and God’s will. It covered a gamut of subjects, such as “angel numbers” (as complicated as it sounds); superstition (like wearing clothing that brought you “luck”); the “Gideon-fleece thing”; and more. You can listen to it: Church and Culture with James Emery White. It will be worth your while if you have any questions about this sort of thing.
So I was already somewhat there with my antenna up when I was confronted with answers to prayer this morning. You have probably heard it said, “God has 3 answers to prayer: yes, no, and wait awhile.”
The first-yes-has nothing but pros because that basically means God agreed with us. 🙂 We like that answer!!
The second-no- is an answer, but not so much to our liking. Not only did God not agree with our request/desire, He shut the door. We see a lot of cons with this answer, but it would behoove us to see the pros. God is all-wise and therefore, has our best interest in mind. He shut the door for a reason, perhaps known only to Him. This actually happened to Paul in Acts 16. I seriously doubt Paul could understand why God said no at the time. I mean, after all, he was doing God’s work and wanting to spread the message. But read the rest of the chapter. Paul and Silas are put in prison; an earthquake shakes the door open, but Paul and Silas stay put. As a result, the jailer and his family were saved.
The third answer-wait awhile- is a whole ‘nother discussion for another time.
To close this devo: the “no” answer always causes us to question and sometimes even has us calling into question God’s love for us. It shouldn’t though. We need to rejoice that God loves us so much He said no…most likely for reasons known only to Him at the time. We MAY learn it later. Maybe.
He is all-wise and makes no mistakes. Fall back on that. He will not let you down.
I have benefited from all 3 as you describe Bill… Door closed, and 5 years later I could see the reason why. My family’s initial move from Terre Haute was a door closed.
One thing we can remember, When God shuts a door, He has opened another. Be thankful that our good shepherd has our best interests in mind and keeps us from going down paths that unbeknownst to us could be destructive.
And THAT (your last comment) my friend is why we need to trust His heart.
To this day, I can hear my dad saying, “God makes no mistakes.” That has helped me enormously when those “nos” I heard were really harsh ones at the time.
Blessings, Bill!
Your dad was a wise man Martha and I’m glad you can still hear him saying that. 🙂
I too have experienced all three of God’s responses, and everytime I found out why God has never been wrong. The reason I ended up moving where I did and the twists that it took, God was in controlled the whole time. Good story, I will have to share with you sometime Bill. Even on some the answers I still do not know, there is no doubt in my mind that God is in control and that I am safe in His hands. Jeremiah 29:11. God always encourages us to go to the Bible to find answers and again if we look they are there. We serve an awesome Father, who loves us more than we can wrap our heads around.
I would love to hear your story someday Gail. I bet it is filled with good stuff about God and his leading. I do agree we are in His hands and can find our guidance from the Bible.