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When God Says No...

Two things are certain: God is able and God is sovereign. The problem is that His ability and His sovereignty don't always work together. Sometimes His sovereignty overrules His ability and though He can do something on our behalf, He doesn't because it is not His will.

That is the hardest thing to accept for us as Christians. Most times, our faith wanes not because we don't think He is able, but because we assume that just because He is able, He is also willing. Unfortunately, in a lot of instances His sovereign will causes Him to refuse to do something that He was more than able to do.



If we look at Paul, we see a great example of that. Paul had a "thorn in the flesh" and besought the Lord three times to remove it. God never did. Not because He wasn't able, but because there was a purpose to Paul's thorn in the flesh that would benefit Paul more than the removal of the "thorn" (see 2 Cor. 12:7-10).

This is something that I am living. Yesterday, I got an answer to something I have been praying about for almost three weeks (really more like a year and a half, but just three weeks about this specific aspect). The answer was no. To tell the truth, I was crushed. Everything in me believed that God was going to answer my prayer with a resounding YES. I had even envisioned myself walking through this door that I knew God had opened for me. But He didn't open it. And I cried...

Not because I don't think God is able to open the door, but it hurt that He wasn't willing. I don't understand the reasoning behind it at all. But like Paul, I have to take comfort in the fact that His strength is made perfect in my weakness. Like Paul, I will glory even in this affliction because God is sovereign. He is the Lord, let Him what seemeth Him good (1 Sam. 3:18).

Let us be careful in our prayer life not to assume that just because God can, He will. When we do that, we run the risk of shaking our faith because we start to feel entitled to whatever it is we want. After all, He can do it. So whether it's a financial blessing or healing or the restoration of a broken relationship, remember God can because He's able, but His sovereignty is the deciding factor. And if He doesn't do what you ask Him to do, please understand His refusal is for a greater purpose in your life and continue to trust Him through the tears and heartache and frustration.

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