What If God Says, “No”
Scripture Reference: Numbers 22:4-6, 12-14
Balack sends a special request to Balaam by his messengers:
4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: 6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
God sends an answer to Balak’s request:
12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed. 13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you. 14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
Have you ever went to God to petition Him for a thing and knew that you deserved it and knew that there was really nothing to stop you from having it and God tell you that you can not have it?
I remember being a young boy and if my mom ever told me, No that I couldn’t have a thing that I thought I deserved and had earned then this meant that she didn’t understand what I was asking her for. In my opinion this would always signify that I needed to explain to her what I was asking for in more detail. I mean certainly she could not have meant, “No” as her final answer.
I often wonder what my marriage would be like if all I had to do was to tell my wife, “No” and she listen and obey. No questions asked. All I had to do was say it one time. Actually, I probably would miss out on more than I gain.
I often enjoy the passage of David enquiring God about whether he should face the Philistine army or not. (II Samuel 5:19 And David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.)
Although David was truly a man of God and had often enjoyed the luxury of God on his side often in battle, he still acknowledged the fact that he had to humbly and sincerely approach God on this matter. David was fully aware that it was a matter of life of death because the Philistines would attack no matter what God’s answer was. David knew that the power to win or lose was in the hands of the living God.
What if God had said, No. What if God had answered David, No at a time like this. David would have certainly and immediately been either killed or taken captive. Yet David still completely and sincerely trusted God to do what was right.
Can we truly, sincerely and completely trust God even in a situation like the one that David found himself in. Knowing that if God had answered, No then he would have been defeated.
In this passage, David is teaching us that we may go to God with great boldness and confidence in full assurance that He can do all things but we must also always remember to remain humble when talking to the Father.
Just because God is the Father and can do anything that does not always mean that He is going say yes to our every request.
In our passage today we see Balak, a powerful king, petitioning God through one of his men (Balaam) to grant him a request. I am sure that when Balak thought it through he did not see anything wrong with his approach to the situation.
The king was probably highly surprised to hear that his offer was refused. To the king, it seemed as though Balaam lived for an opportunity such as what the king was offering him right now.
When God told Balak, No. Balak must have thought to himself that surely God either did not understand the question or wasn’t sure of the power held by the mighty Balak. So he does what every self-centered man with power and authority does when he doesn‘t get his way.
He asks again.
This time using more of his weight than he did the first time to ensure that God completely understood who he was and what he was asking. (Numbers 22:15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they. 16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: 17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.)
An interesting point that we should notice in this passage is that the king sought Balaam and not the other way around.
This is sort of like a mayor of a major metropolitan city seeking advice from the pastor of one of the smallest storefront churches in the city.
Although this could be a wise move on behalf of the mayor it is highly unlikely. It would surely cause an immediate rebellion from the “prestigious” people of the city if the source for his advice were ever revealed
Many of us are holding positions that God has us in right now that seem so insignificant to the big picture but I would like to take this moment to tell you that you should always stay ready because you never know when, where, why, for what, who or how God may need you.
What may seem like a small and insignificant position to you may be just the position that God needs you in to make a point, so hold on to God saint. God needs you.
Just as to be expected, the man of God responded with a direct answer from God again. This time he spoke in a language that he was sure that the king would understand. (Numbers 22:18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.)
God was not only telling the king, No, but he was also telling Balaam, No. He was refusing the opportunity of Balaam to receive a “get rich quick” present from the king.
In today’s time, it seems that all that we think that we have to do is go to the leaders of the church with our request (no matter what they are) and if our offering is good enough, we believe that the leaders should find a way to show that God justifies our actions and support our request.
We, as leaders, have to be careful that we are not attempting to compromise the word of God for a “get rich quick” present from someone other than God.
God may not just be refusing the person petitioning the request but he may be taking the leader of the church through a trial to see if the leader alters from His word for a “get rich quick” present from someone other than God.
I am sure that many disagree with me and believe that it is ok to receive any offering and pray to God the He grant any request we ask but let’s look at what Satan tried to offer Jesus immediately following his fast. (Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.)
Satan offered one of his favorite offerings. He offered Christ a “get rich quick” present in hopes that Christ would not think clearly and accept his illusion of a present and lose out on the true blessing from God.
I would like to take a moment and share a poem that was sent to me over the internet by one of my friends. It is entitled, “God said, No”.
God Said No
I asked God to take away my habit.
It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.
God said, No.
I asked God to grant me patience.
Patience is a byproduct of tribulations;
it isn’t granted, it is learned.
God said, No.
God said, No.
I asked God to make my spirit grow.
You must grow on your own! ,
but I will prune you to make you fruitful. 
God said, No.
CONCLUSION
I am sure that since we serve such a powerful and altogether wonderful God that it may seem as though our every request should be granted. However saint I am here to tell you that there is a possibility that God can say, No. We must always remember that He will always have our best interest in mind and that He will never lose or fail so we should be assured that this too will pass. Just because He said, No doesn’t signify that we are out of His will He will have something better for us if we tarry.
Let’s Pray
Our most precious and loving Father, I realize that there are times when our request are denied. I realize that even in our state of thinking that we have some type of special relationship with you there are times that you can say no. Lord God we will always reserve you the right to say no to what we are doing and we will obey your commands and stop whatever it is that you are refusing us. This is my prayer over my life from this day forward. Amen
Thank You. May God continue to bless you and keep you. Amen
Your Friend
Minister Juan D. Lane Sr.
