The Promise: No
“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:39
Scripture declares that God is faithful and that He keeps ALL His promises.
Let me remind you of the scripture I quoted last week….
“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercywith them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;” Deuteronomy 7:9
You and I can rest assured today that the thousands of promises that are in His Word can be counted on! There is so much joy in knowing He is faithful.
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” Hebrews 10:23
We must not waiver while we wait on His promises to be fulfilled in our lives. He is working everything out for the good!
We can rejoice in that. We can thank God for that. We can shout for that. Everything is working towards our expected end.
What about the promises of “NO”?
Can we still accept it, believing that He is still working everything out for our good?
I know His promises of YES far outweigh those of NO. But sometimes we get so caught up with the few NOES, we forget about His thousands upon thousands of YESES.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NLT “Even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.
Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Did you ever think that His power is just as great when He says “NO”?
That the things we are asking God to remove might be the very things to make us better and stronger.
Paul, an incredible follower of Christ, thought he knew what was best for himself. He even begged God to take it away. But here is the key, when God said “NO,” Paul found a way to take pleasure in it.
You and I must find the purpose in our “NO.”
Jesus struggling with his flesh is another example of wanting to bypass something to avoid pain.
The flesh of Jesus was crying out to the Spirit, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” But, in the end, the flesh yielded to the spirit, “Not my will, but thine be done.”
Why was there a no? Because there was a greater purpose for what Christ had to go through.
We are not exempt from pain and suffering.
We are not exempt from heartache and loss.
We are not exempt from fatigue and weariness.
We are not exempt from the valley and the desert.
But in all of that, his grace is sufficient for us!
2 Corinthians 12:10 NLT “That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
We can only win through all of life with the promise of His Spirit living inside of us. With His Spirit is there to guide, direct, and bring peace. Even when He says “No” to something we think is best, He always has our best interests in mind. We can trust Him, even when He says, “NO”!
