You Got a “No”, But Thought It was a “Yes”

 

In Jeremiah 29:11(NLT), Our Heavenly Father told His people living in Old Testament times, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” When we didn’t know much about God’s Word and didn’t understand the totality of His sovereignty, intelligence, love and power, we may have made the mistake of thinking that He makes things up as He goes along. That’s not how He operates. Our Heavenly Father masterfully plans, and because He is perfect beyond perfection, He never needs to do a do-over, take-back, or a back track. He does everything perfectly from the very beginning.

As we learn to walk by faith and not by sight, we’re expected to know this about God’s nature and being. He’s God all by Himself, and there is no other like Him—no one that compares. He chose us to be a part of His family, and He has invited us through Jesus Christ to share in His glory. But we can never forget that it’s God’s party we’re coming to. He is in charge. He did all the planning, and He left no detail undone, because that is who He is. He said in Malachi 3:6(NLT), “I am the LORD, and I do not change.” He doesn’t change, neither do His plans. This is why we can be totally confident in the plan He has for our individual lives.

God is not pulling our strings as we move about like puppets. His plans include our diligence to live our lives according to His Word and love. Living by His Word and the love of Jesus Christ is the absolute best that any human being could ever hope to achieve.  God has designed the universe in such a way that all His blessings are tied to living through Jesus Christ. When we step outside of Christ and do things that are not in alignment with his example, we will have chosen to do things our own way. This isn’t wise.

God tells us in Proverbs 19:21 that we can make many plans, but His purpose prevails. That’s why we should go directly to Him, the Source of all truth, to find out what He requires from us. He tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 to trust in Him with ALL our hearts, and He says that we should not depend on our own understanding, but seek Him in all that we do, and He’ll tell us which path we should take. Our powerful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, echoes this truth in Matthew 6:33 when he teaches us to seek God first in all that we do, and Heavenly Father will reward us with all the blessings we need.

Whenever we face decisions and choices about the direction of our lives, our first step should be to go to God. Some believers have complained, “Well, I ask God questions all the time, but He doesn’t answer me.” This cannot be possible. James 1:5(NLT) states, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” He always answers us. Sometimes it’s a word of wisdom from a seasoned veteran that doles out wise counsel. It might be a verse that comes across our ears and really resonates with our souls. Other times, it’s inspiration that lands softly on our minds and hearts. God does not have a problem speaking to us. It’s our responsibility to study His Word so that we become confident hearers of His voice.

Of course, there will be times that we feel unsure. We think we’ve heard from the Lord, but there’s still that little bit of doubt in the back of our minds. In these instances, our best choice is to patiently spend more time in prayer, but sometimes we don’t do this. We feel we need to act and don’t wait for another confirmation. Even when we’re impatient, God will still hold us up, and He won’t ever abandon us. We might have proceeded and kicked that little bit of insecurity about His answer to the curb, but He will still guide us. The thing is, we can’t ever stop listening for His voice.

No matter what decisions and choices we make, whether we’re confident or insecure in our moves, we need to be watchful for God’s guidance. If we hit snags and roadblocks, it is usually a sure indication that we got a “No!” and proceeded as though it was a “Yes”. Those little hiccups show us the grace that God has woven into every situation of our lives. Even when we don’t hear as well as we’d like, He has many ways to tell us to pump the breaks. We’ll save ourselves a tremendous number of headaches if we heed His warnings, and if we learn to pay closer attention to the many ways in which He communicates and helps guide us in our lives.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“You Got a “No”, But Thought It was a “Yes”, written for Christian Encouragement and Inspiration© 2021. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.