WHOA!!!! Did God Just Tell Me "NO".....

1 Samuel 1-6 (Paraphrased)
1Now there was a certain man ……………name was Elkanah, ……………. 2And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. 4And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: 5But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. 6And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

Has God ever told you "No" to something you asked for and or been praying for? And how did it make you feel or better yet, how did you respond to his "No"? To hear the words "No" from God just seem heartbreaking or Helpless...it’s like whom worst would you rather hear the word "No" from other then God himself. I mean if GOD say’s “No” what else is there left to do….

In the scripture/story above: Hanna (Elkanah 1st wife) had to deal with knowing that she couldn’t bear any kids because God himself for whatever reason decided to shut up her womb to make it so she could not reproduce. Now, I can only imagine for a woman that had to be a hard and painful pill to swallow; especially seeing how Peninnah (Elkanah 2nd wife) was able to do what Hanna was not able to. So in a sense God answer to Hanna request was “No”. Now before you let your emotion get the best of you...know we’re dealing with here. Man didn’t say “No”, Satan didn’t say “No”….it was GOD that shut up Hanna’s womb!! God has the power to turns "No's" into "Yes"...but he 1st wants to see if he will get the Glory out of your response to his “No”.

I find it interesting that with us Christian we are perfectly fine as long as God is saying “Yes, Yes, Yes” to what were asking him for. But the moments God says “No” we go crazy and start losing our minds and forget everything we know God has told/promised us and what his word says concerning our life. Many of us has been in Hanna’s shoes, where God has closed a door that we wanted open but for whatever reason God saw fit to close that door in this season of our life. Now God can have door stay close or he can close it for it to open later on in life…totally up to GOD!! But please know that GOD will never say “No” to hurt us!!

GOD says "NO" for 3 reasons: to "PROTECT" you, "TEST" you, "PREP" you

1. To PROTECT YOU – God's ultimate "NO" came when Jesus ask God in Luke 22:42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done." if had answered "Yes" to that question, Jesus would not have died on the cross and the sins of the world would have cost all humanity a chance for eternal life. So you see God's "No" protected all Mankind. I'll put it this way....God see's your entire life “what was, what is, what’s to come” and he knows what you can and cannot handle. And a lot of what we desire in life is not always apart of God’s will but more so our own fleshly desire. The Bible says that God will give you the “desires of your heart” but if your desire is not lined up with God, then God has to step in and intercede. Because our desire may do more harm than good and that conflict with God’s ultimate plan.

2. To TEST YOU – I said before that we’re good, fine and dandy as long as God is saying “Yes, Yes, Yes” but the moment God say’s “No, No, No” we go from Sophomore year of College right back to Pre-Kindergarten…where is the spiritual maturity? God needs to know that he will get the same Praise, Glory, Honor when he say’s “No” to us the same as when he said “Yes” to us. God is trying to raise up a generation of consistence Believers and not fence straddler’s. So the next time God tells you “NO” it just very may be a test of your Praise!! Regardless of whether God says "Yes" or "No" to our request, we must remember that God is still in control and still deserve our highest praise, whether we like the answer or not. Job said it best; when he was at his worst and God allowed him to continue in the painful situation he was in. Job said "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."(KJV) Job 13:15

3. To PREPARE YOU - A father races his 8 year old son on the track, and 10 times out of 10 the son would beat his dad running from the starting line to the finish line. Unknowing to the son that it was not by his own speed and skills that he kept beating his dad, but because the son's father was letting him win to buid his confindence! This very particular time on the track, the father and son line up on the starting line and the father screams "On your mark, get set, Goooooooo"!!! The father sprinted with all that he had down the track, surpassing his son and reaching the finish line almost 5 second before his son. His son was very upset and sad that he lost the race. The father explain to him that in life; every "Lost" and every "No" you get should push you, prep you, and humble you. God is the ultimate winner and he allows up to lose every now and the so we can depend solely on him and not our own might!!! The sames applies to "No's", you won't always receive a "Yes" but you won't always receive a "No" either. And if you do receive a "No" Its ok because your "Yes" is coming....

So how will you respond to God's "No"? Will you say "Yes to his Will" when he says "No to your wants" or will you complain, pout & turn/run from his will? Whenever God's "No" remember he's only saying it to "PROTECT" you, "TEST" you, "PREP" you or all three.... Let God do the work he needs to do in you, regardless of what the answer is!!


Look out for PART II titled: “Ok, GOD said No: I get that…. but does Satan have to keep rubbing it in my Face”