About when God says "No" for our benefit…
2 Corinthians 7:11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness,
what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what
concern, what readiness to see justice done. (NIV)
When you were a child, perhaps you received "No" answers from a parent or
parent figure. We know that children who learn to live in happiness even when they receive
"No" answers grow up to be happy and well-adjusted adults. In the same way that
a child should never be given anything they want, any time they want it, so we as God's
children are not given anything we want anytime we want it. We tell a child "No"
they cannot have what they want for their own benefit. The child cannot see into the
future or cannot see the results of actions like an adult. In the same way, we cannot see
into the future or see the results of actions like our Father in heaven. God, like the
loving parent He is, tells us "No" for reasons that can be for our own good. God
may give us a negative answer for He can see into the future when we cannot. God can
balance out the evil, hurt, and pain of the world by keeping us from doing, being, or
receiving what we think we want or need. When we have a crying need, when we are prostrate
on the ground in our grief and when we are begging God to do what we ask, God may not give
us our desires because He can see consequences we cannot see. In these hours of our
darkness and pain, we must rest in His peace, rest in His love, rest in His tender care,
and trust Him to make all things right in the end. Just as a parent can see consequences a
child cannot see, God also can see consequences we cannot see.
