Faith When the Answer Is No Part 2
Introduction
Last week I started this message about what happens to your faith when you do not get something that you ask God for, something you really wanted, yet did not receive. I shared with you my experience when I was seeking a different job within my company that I did not get and the mental processes that I went through in thinking what could I have done differently. I also shared with you the scriptures that talk about the blessings that will come upon those who obey and trust in the Lord our God and how if we have faith we could remove mountains. The focus of the message was to help you evaluate where you are with four key beliefs that tend to dictate our responses to situations that do not work our as we are believe God they will. Let me remind you of the four beliefs:
• If I do not get what I want, it was not meant to be just a fact of life – no control.
• If I do not get what I ask for, then I did not have enough faith.
• If I do not get what I ask for, God said no and I trust Him because He takes care of me.
• God says yes, but this may not be the time – I need to wait and prepare.
Last week I was able to get through the first two beliefs and today I will complete this message. If you recall from last week, both religious and non-religious individuals hold the first belief. As I stated last week, it is very easy to go through life thinking that you have no control over anything and what happens to you was just a fact of life. Also I told you that the second belief was potentially more dangerous because it solely places the blame on you if you did not get something you were believing God for. The second belief says that if you did not get what you wanted you simply did not have enough faith. This morning I will start with the third belief that says “God said no and I trust Him because He takes care of me.” Although that is a very true statement that God takes care of each of His children, lets examine this belief more closely.
I. God Said No And I Trust Him Because He Takes Care Of Me
This belief can make you seem very spiritual. I would love to be able to blame God for not getting what I want. Can you see the benefit to having a “fall guy” to blame? Let me give you an example. I go on a job interview for an executive level position. I walk into the interview room and the interviewers are dressed in dark suits and red ties (the power ties). I am of course dressed to kill in short pants, a tee shirt and dirty sneakers. Now when I do not get the job, it would be so nice to say it was because God did not want that for me. Thinking this way allows me to not be responsible for anything – I am God’s child. He controls everything around me and if He says no, then hey, who am I to blame.
I know for a fact that there have been things that I went to God for and He has said no, it was not time. There have been many more times when things did not work out because of me or for other reasons. The problem is knowing the difference. Yes I believe that God is watching over us. Yes I believe that He is active in our lives, but again the Scripture does not support the thought that every time something does not work out it is because God said no. It would be nice if it was that way, but unfortunately that does not seem to be the case. Examine the following Scripture. In 1 Chronicles 28, David calls all of the officials together and he tells them this:
1Chronicles 28:2-3 “King David rose to his feet and said: ‘Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, for a footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. But god said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.”
In 2 Samuel, we find the story of David’s desire to build a temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. God had brought him peace from all of his enemies and David was grateful. As He thought about how good God had been to him, he talked with the prophet Nathan and shared with him his concern and his desires. David actually felt guilty that God had blessed and kept him and yet he had not in his mind taken care of the Ark. Nathan told David to do whatever he was desiring to do because the Lord was with him. The prophet Nathan gave David’s his blessing to build the temple because he assumed that God would be pleased. That was not the case. In a dream that night, God appeared to Nathan and told him to tell David that although he appreciates his concern and his desire to build the temple, it was not to be. God told David no, that it was not for him to build the temple. You must understand, when God told David no, it was not because David was a bad person, far from it, it was a simple fact that God had already chosen who would do it and it would not be a man of war. So what we find is that David, although his desire was good, was not allowed to do what he wanted. David accepted God’s answer and had peace because he now understood what God’s will was and that the temple would be built.
In 2 Corinthians 12, we find a situation where Paul had a thorn in his flesh (a messenger of Satan to torment him). Paul went to the Lord three time praying for deliverance from whatever this thorn was in his flesh. Here is Jesus’ response:
2 Corinthians 12:9 “But He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Paul had prayed for deliverance, but the Lord said no. Why? Was it because Paul did not deserve it? Was it because of his past sins? Was it because the Lord wanted to teach him a lesson? Based on the account in 2 Corinthian 12, the Lord refused Paul’s request because with the gifts that were operating within Paul, he could have easily become conceited. The thorn in his flesh, in his case, kept him grounded and focused on who really was his source.
There will be times when God’s answer to you will be no. As a good Father, He will not do or give us anything that is designed to hurt us. God is good, always has been and always will be and that is why we know when He says no, there is a good reason for it. Let me make this point before I move to the 4th belief. Unless you know for a fact that God has said no and that is why something did not work out, do not blame God. Again, in my earlier example of not getting a job because I was not dressed properly – we must know our role in the things that happens to us. God may have said yes, but we in our flesh shut down the opportunity.
II. God Says Yes, But It Is Not Time And I Need To Prepare
The final belief addresses our patience. God may approve for us to do something, but we must understand the timing. Let me give you a personal example. Twenty years ago I went before God fasting and praying about starting a Church. It was in 1984 ad I had been in the ministry for three years. We were coming out of one ministry and I a strong desire to start my own. After prayer and fasting and having others do the same, the answer was a resounding “No – not time yet”. God literally said no, that it was not time. At first I did not want to hear that answer and was angry about it. Looking back I know now that I could have done a lot of damage to my flock had I became a pastor back then. I did not know squat then and I continue to learn today how much I do not know. I waited, not very patiently either, for 18 years to get the green light. During those 18 years, the desire never left me for I knew one day it would happen. This is one of the times that I can recall when I know for a fact God stopped me from doing something because I was not ready and it could have been detrimental to His work. When He told me that it was not time, He did not say it would never happen, but that it was not time at that moment.
Remember in 1 Samuel 16 where Samuel anoints David to be King. God had chosen David to be King while Saul was still in charge. It was several years before David actually stepped into the position that God had anointed him to take. Although David did not ask for the position and was told to wait, I use this example to stress the point that although God has something for us, there are times when we must be patient for the right time. Anything done in the wrong time can be harmful. Remember the story of Lazarus? Lazarus was a friend of Jesus, the brother of Mary and Martha. He became sick and word was sent to Jesus to come immediately to heal him. They never thought Jesus would refuse to come, nor did they request that he just speak the word from where He was and heal him. No, they wanted a personal, face to face interaction with Jesus to restore their brother to complete health. Jesus did not send word back to them that He was not coming He just did not go. After Lazarus died, He told His disciples that they needed to go and awaken him. They though it meant that Lazarus was just sleeping, so He told them Lazarus had died. Why did Jesus wait? Look at John 11:14
John 11:14 So then He told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Jesus not leaving immediately upon receiving word that Lazarus was sick had nothing to do with his love of Lazarus or Lazarus’s sisters. It had nothing to do with His being to busy. It had everything to do with building His disciples faith. They had seen Jesus heal the sick, but to raise someone from the dead after they had been entered into the grave was unheard of. His delay also increased the faith of all of those in attendance with Lazarus’ family. Two things I want you to consider as you think about this story. First, when Jesus called Lazarus forth, Lazarus “floated” up out of the grave. His hands and feet were still wrapped in linen so he could not walk out. Neither Jesus, nor anyone else entered the grave; they were standing outside the grave when He called Lazarus out. Second thing to consider is the issue that Martha raised that Lazarus had been in the grave four days and must have started to stink. Jesus understood what she was saying; yet it did not stop Him. He understood what He would do and He understood what it would do to their faith.
I hope with these two examples that you begin to understand that timing is very important in God’s plan. When you go to Him about something, He may tell you yes, but you will still need to understand the timing, it may not be what you think. If the timing is later, the next question is what do you need to do in the mean time to prepare yourself for what God has planned for you.
Conclusion
I intentionally did not try to tell you which of these beliefs that you should adopt because all of them carry truth within them. My goal with this message is to get you to start looking at your responses to situations when you do not get what you want. Do you write it off as “whatever – it was not supposed to be” or do you blame yourself because you did not have enough faith? Do you believe God said no and that is okay or do you believe that He may approve the request, but the time is not yet? Whatever you believe in your circumstance, always remember that God cares for you and wants the best for you. However, because He created us with a free will and an ability to make decisions without consulting Him, there are a lot of things that fall within our realm of control. So before we default to blaming God or about level of faith, remember to do a self-check to determine your role in the situation. You may be surprised at what you discover. May God bless and keep you is my prayer.
