When God's answer is 'no'

Jessica and I have been talking about this a bit recently...

When God's answer is 'no' we most often say, "He is not answering my prayers" but the truth is... He is.... God is just saying, "No" or "wait" or "in My timing".

If we see a little kid in the shops begging for this and that , never satisfied, always wanting more, crying and screaming and having a temper tantrum because they are not allowed their own desires - what is our reaction? We immediately recoil and think...what a brat, poor mother, how embarrassing, or something to that effect. We never think poor little darling why doesn't that silly mother just give in and get the whole shop for that child! If the child thinks it is good for her why can't the silly mother see it too? Do we?

Then why do we presume that we as God's children can get every thing we want and feel we should have. It is a natural reaction for sure...but with Paul we need to train our hearts , our minds to trust in all circumstances to say...." I have learned to be content in every circumstance" God is sovereign in all things...good and bad! He allows us to face difficulties and hardships for His glory and honour. For in reality we can only be happy if we live totally for God and are close to God in all our circumstances. So often learning through hard times helps us to help others too who suffer, it makes us soft and compassionate and kinder...at least it does for me.

Try John Piper's sermons on this topic http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/

"Trusting God: Even When Life Really Hurts" is a great book on this topic too. A must read for every one - even if you don't hurt right now. See http://www.amazon.com/Trusting-God-Even-When-Hurts/dp/0891096175