Beauty For The Heart®

What Happens When God Says No

What-if-we-trusted
I don’t know about you, but I love when the answer to our prayers are “YES”. 

  • Yes, that broken relationship will be mended.
  • Yes, you are going to get that new job promotion. 
  • Yes, your child will be healed.
  • Yes, you can adopt a child.
  • Yes, your loved one will live.
  • Yes, your spouse will move back home.

Wouldn’t it be nice if yes was always His answer? What happens when God says no?

If the answer is no, do we still believe He is a good God?

What if we trusted Him even when we feel He is withholding our deepest desires. What if we believed that His no is really a yes for our best.

Romans 8:28 (NIV) reminds us He is working all things out for our good. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

In the midst of our struggles, and feeling as if God is not answering us, He is working things out that we can’t even begin to imagine.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. Isaiah 55:8 (NLT)

We have to believe His word and trust Him!

I have been on this journey with God long enough to know that when he says no, He has far greater things planned!

Lord, let me trust you even when the answer is not yes.

I have shared this song before but I love this live version. I want to be a soul on fire!

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Have a blessed Sunday!

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  1. God’s “no” is so hard to take, but I am living proof that He has so much more planned for us. Love this song by Third Day. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Our sermon touched on this yesterday – When God calls on you to change your path for his calling. To give up what you love or dream will happen when he has different plans for you.

    Romans 12New International Version (NIV)

    A Living Sacrifice
    12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

    Humble Service in the Body of Christ
    3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

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  3. Back in 1993, my husband and I decided we wanted to have a third child, but God said “no.” Though we hadn’t had problems conceiving child 1 and 2, we found ourselves with unexpected, mysterious fertility issues. Though we begged God to open my womb again, He never did. We pursued adoption, but that didn’t work out for us.

    For 17 long, painful years, I wrestled with God about this. I doubted his love for me, and my faith wavered constantly. Finally, in 2010, I came to the place of surrender. I realized that God knows infinitely more than I do and that His plan is perfect. Though I may not understand WHY he didn’t allow me to have more than 2 children, I do trust that He knows best. And by trusting Him even when his answer is “no, I’ve found the peace, joy, and contentment I had long been missing.

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    1. Patti I can somewhat relate to what you’re talking about. Wayne and I married in 1991, we wanted to have a baby (Courtney and Cory are from my previous marriage). We wanted the baby to grow up with Courtney and Cory.
      After trying for about 6 months, we found out Wayne couldn’t have children. I was devastated for a long time. I still don’t understand why, but I trust God knows.
      He is faithful!!
      Blessings,Cyndi

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  4. Thank you, Cyndi. I needed to hear this today! As a mom of a special needs boy with severe epilepsy, this one is often a struggle for me. Sometimes just a little reminder can turn my day around. 🙂

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  5. Cyndi,

    It is so true that He often says no because He has something better planned, but oh there is pain in the waiting! We want answers so badly that we would even settle for second best if it would just end the suspense. Still, He loves us too much to let us settle with less than His best.

    Blessings,
    Shellie
    http://www.thefabjourney.com

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  6. I always enjoy the scriptures and comments you share with us Cyndi, but today’s is extra special.

    Have a blessed week!

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  7. Amen to your prayer Cyndi. He knows what is best and he loves us perfectly. May His will be done and not mine and may I praise Him for the no’s as well.

    Thank you for this reminder and sharing God’s truth.

    Blessings,

    Beth

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  8. Cyndi, I have always loved what Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego (those names are a lot to type in my smart phone!) said at the furnace door…”If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But **even if He does not**, let it be known to you, O king, that we are are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18). Their trust was in God and not in the answer He might give. They are an incredible example to me of allegiance to and confidence in God no matter what!

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  9. Love that song!
    Just spent afternoon at outdoor baptism! Let our souls always burn for him! Thank you for leading me into worship everyday and the fashion is bonus!
    Happy week!

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  10. Thank you for this today. Of course we want God’s “Yes, I’ll do that for you!” or “No problem! I’m God, you want it? Sure!” Unfortunate, yes; but in reality, fortunately, that’s not how it works! God has had a plan for use before we were born. I already knows the ins and outs we will go through and he knows how it all ‘ends’ for each of us…….we can’t change God’s will or plan for us. We can pray and ask for his help in ways that we believe we need: “God, please help me lose weight.” “God, please let ‘SO and SO’ love me and only me, forever.” “God, please take this cancer out of my body.” And then none of those things happen and we think God has turned on us. However, God knew that one day you would get sick and debilitated with an illness that causes malnutrition in the treatment. What a blessing that you had that extra weight to carry you through without becoming emaciated! No, ‘SO and SO’ actually broke your heart 6 months into the relationship. How could Got allow that? Little did you know that your super hero guy was married, had 3 little kids and another girlfriend on the side. That cancer? Yes, you were eventually in remission, but because of the cancer while it was there, you became a mentor for other people going through the process and now work as a spokesperson for a local Hospice, doing God’s good work. I find the most difficult is to actually hear God when he gives me that message that I’m not listening for. I’m working on that. But geez, aren’t we all so wonderfully blessed?! My mission right now is to be quiet and listen for God’s message to me!

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    2. I understand how God can use these no’s for something greater in some instances. But I still can’t understand how my sibling had to die of cancer as a child after being sick for many years. How is that good? Or how is it good if someone gets advanced cancer, doesn’t heal, and isn’t able to (for example) mentor those in hospice care?

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      1. Hi Lynn, I hear exactly what you’re saying and I also hear and feel your pain and I’m sorry. I wish there were answers for questions like these beyond, “It’s God’s plan.” Unfortunately, sometimes we have to accept it as such. Does suffering here on earth mean that you have a better chance of a heavenly afterlife? I don’t know. Why do bad things happen to good people? Another unanswered question. I guess what I’m trying to say is we have to have faith, no matter what. Maybe one day, the answers will become become clear. Maybe not. It’s difficult not to get angry at God when the unexplainable (and to us, unacceptable) happens. He forgives us for that. Just don’t throw Him away…for everything, there is a reason. It just may not be ours to figure out. I hope you find your peace and that your pain lessens over time. Kathi

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      2. The Lord can see the vast and far reaching connections that we can not.
        Perhaps An insufficient example, but none the less… a man who became a doctor because his church held a fundraiser/ prayer vigil for a young boy during his adolescence. He did not personally know the child, who later passed but it lit a passion in him to heal.
        I for one know for certain that I have made huge decisions based on witnessing the strengths other people displayed during times of tremendous suffering and loss.

        Everything works together for good..completely and truly.

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    2. Thank you. Day by day. We are supporting schooling and reunification efforts as well as vocational training and support for the birth mother. Praying all goes well for them, no matter where they live, and that they know how precious they are to God.

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  12. Yes, I have learned to be grateful for the prayers that received a no! Thank goodness the Lord ignores my advice on how situations should work out!

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  13. Right now my heart is heavy and I am really questioning God. I feel like my world is falling apart and God doesn’t care. My father has dementia and is in a nursing home, my mother has Alzheimer’s and my sister and I are her caregivers and now my husband has been diagnosed with a very rare cancer and we are currently searching for a way we can get this treated. Why would God place this all in my lap? I don’t think I can be strong for everyone in my life. I just can’t see why God would do all this to me.

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    1. So sorry, Gail. Prayers for you & your family. It certainly is alot to handle. Have faith that God is with you & will see you through. I pray He will comfort you. His grace is sufficient.
      Mary

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    4. Gail, prayers are with you. You can’t be strong on your own but only with God’s help and the help of people around you who can help carry the load. And you can only be strong for one person at a time. It may mean that you can’t do everything you want to do for each of you loved ones. But when others step up help with some of those things, those other people may be letting God use them to help answer your prayers. And I can’t say it enough, allow moments to take care of yourself.

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    5. Gail, I will keep all of you in my prayers! Don’t lose faith in God! He is with you every step, even though you don’t like He is. Peace be with you, and with your spirit!

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    7. Dear Gail, I’m sorry that so many difficult things are happening in your life and in your loved ones lives. Situations like yours are hard for anyone to explain or understand but I pray it comforts you to read that others are praying for you today. It seems reasonable to believe that God has a very high view of you to have chosen you to provide this magnitude of care to your parents and spouse as you cling to the LORD and trust Him moment to moment. I’m often reminded of this phrase when life doesn’t make sense; “When you can’t trace God’s hand, trust His heart.” Praying for you and your family this evening.

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      1. Thank you, Nancy. It is a comfort knowing people I don’t even know are praying for me. Your words are kind. I just feel like the weight on my shoulders are about to break me. I will try to keep faith that God is with me during this horrible journey in my life.

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  14. It is hard to accept and understand God’s No’s but I trust His sovereignty way more than I trust my human logic. We prayed several months ago to heal your friend’s baby girl who has an incurable brain cancer. I think of that precious little girl often and continue to pray for her and her family. Can you share with us an update?

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  17. Thanks for your post, Cyndi. I’ve definitely had this experience. A few times in my life, things have happened that I just couldn’t see how any good could come of it. Sometimes you see it later, sometimes you don’t. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to just say yes, Lord, because He knows what he is doing and I know He loves me. I pray for Him to do His will in my life. I also pray for Him to help me like it.

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  18. Great song. Had a prayer answered recently. What a blessing to know God worked that out. To God be the glory. Now I have one that is heavy on my heart concerning our pastors son who was in a boating accident. Please help in praying for Jason. Thanks & God bless.

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  19. So true Cyndi! Trusting God, regardless of His answers, help our faith grow stronger too!! Thx for sharing this today. Have a blessed Sunday!

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  20. Cindy this could not have come at a better time. The small church we have been members of for 23 years and the church I was saved in is closing and our hearts are breaking. We feel utterly lost . We do trust God wholly but this flesh is weak and finds it hard to see good in this.
    Thanks again , love in Christ.
    Jami

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