"No? Seriously?"

~ It's Not Fair ~

When my husband and I were first married,  I was a soloist and he was my sound guy.  He also provided sound services for other venues.  I remember one time he was called out to do sound for a christian youth event at a roller skating rink.  My son was about 5 years old and my daughter was a toddler.  We were concerned about taking both kids to the event.  It would have been very difficult for me to monitor two children in a crowded roller skating rink while my husband was working.  For their safety, we chose to send my son with his dad and I would stay home with my daughter.  She was very much aware of where her dad and brother were going as they prepared for the event.  It did not dawn on her that she would not be going.  When it was time to leave, we broke the news.  You can probably imagine what happened next. Telling a toddler "no" is a huge undertaking.  

I understood her grievance.  Telling her she was too little seemed extremely unfair.  She didn't consider herself little.  She was a big girl.  Isn't that what we always told her?  Well, she cried for a long while.  She kept repeating, "It's not fair."  She was upset at us for saying "no", and at her brother for being allowed to go.  And, she may have even been regretting she was not bigger and older.  

~ When God Says "No" ~

As children of God, we also have expectations, desires and requests.  We count on his answer being "yes".  Sometimes we are even convinced our expectations are according to His will.  They have to be. "Doesn't God want us to be happy?"  However, just like my daughter, when God says "no" we are sometimes devastated or disappointed. Similarly, we become confused.  "How could God grant someone else their request and not me?" We don't get it.  And, if we're not careful we can also repeat, "It's not fair!"

Then, how should we respond when God says "no"?

~ Lessons Learned ~

* Believe in God's sovereignty and goodness.  

When He says "no" he's not depriving us from what we want, He is saving us from what we want.  

* Believe in God's amazing love for us.  

When He says "yes" to one child it doesn't mean He loves him or her more than the one He said "no" to.  Both "yes" and "no" are equally founded in love.  

*Believe God's ways are better than our ways. Sometimes our imagination exaggerates what we was withheld from us.  By faith we can accept the "no" and know that God still has great things to share with us.

It's good to make plans, but it's even better to keep God's options open.

"...No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived the things that God has prepared for those who love Him."  1 Corinthians 2:9