Those who think of God as “somewhere out there looking down
on us” are probably most discouraged by unanswered prayer. They imagine God is
too busy processing millions of prayers to pay much detailed attention to them.
But such a view demeans the greatness of God. Still, when no answer seems to
come to our prayers, we may feel abandoned or forgotten. That’s when we need
scriptural reminders that God always hears our prayers and always responds. But He will not be manipulated. His answer
will come in His way, in His time, and to fulfill His purpose. And sometimes
that’s “no,” for some of these reasons:
*In response to disobedience and dishonor. Moses truly wanted to step into the Promised Land. Then he lost his temper in a way that dishonored God. When the people rose up against Moses because there was no water, God had told him to “speak” to a certain rock, and it would provide water. Instead, he stormed, “Listen you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10). The pronoun “we” put Moses on equal footing with God. Then, instead of speaking, he whammed the rock with his staff. God took that seriously and right then set the punishment: Moses wouldn’t enter the land. Moses’ heart-breaking disappointment shows how God loves us but also has laid out how to relate to a holy God. Any sin--public or private, done or neglected to be done--is an affront to His holiness.
*To fulfill God’s
higher plan. Jesus knew going through crucifixion would be excruciating. Worse,
He’d suffocate under the dark weight of the world’s sin. His Father would turn His face away. “My
Father,” He pleaded that last night in Gethsemane, “if it is possible, may this
cup be taken from me.” But He knew the
Father’s will was to go through it: “Yet not as I will, but as you will”
(Matthew 25:39). God may leave us in a difficult situation because He sees the
end result. That challenging job, difficult roommate, marital conflict, illness or disability may
be the tool He uses to develop godly character that pushes through.
*To help us experience
God’s sufficiency. Paul felt he’d
suffered enough. Missionary life had meant imprisonment, beatings, shipwrecks,
travel dangers, criminal harm, sleep deprivation, hunger, ragged clothing, and
edge-of-death trauma (see 2 Corinthians 11). He also carried a huge emotional
pastor’s burden. Whatever the source—an old injury?—he continued to suffer a
“thorn in the flesh” that simply wouldn’t go away. To help him endure this, he
had a special-delivery message from Christ: “My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:7-10). To that, Paul
responded with words that still instruct us:
“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in
hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am
strong.”
God’s “no” is never arbitrary. In His profound wisdom and
unfailing love, He seeks only our best. That’s not necessarily our comfort, but
it’s what will bring Him honor and impact our world for good. As we accept the
“no” and begin to see His hand in our lives, then we’ll come full-circle to the
conclusion of Psalm 13. After hanging
out all his “how-long” questions, the psalmist decides:
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13:6)
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