Got any unanswered prayers? That may be a good thing. Sometimes the only thing worse than God refusing to give us what we want occurs when He gives us want we want.
Many years ago, our young daughter had only one thing on her mind.
She knew we planned an Easter egg hunt, and she asked if she could eat lots of candy on Easter. We told her no, but she kept after us, day after day. Easter came and she continued to plead. So we decided to let her learn by experience what she refused to learn by instruction. We let her eat as many little chocolate eggs as she wanted.
That night was pitiful.
“Oooooh, mommy, my tummy hurts!” She had learned by experience what she refused to learn by instruction. My toddler’s lesson gets repeated in the life of most of us adults.
But it doesn’t have to.
Have you ever considered that one of the harshest disciplines occurs when God gives us all what we want—even when what we want is wrong? After years of warning, He relaxes His hand and allows us to experience what happens when we refuse to learn by instruction.
Immediate gratification does a good job hiding the reality of long-term results.
What are you asking God for right now? It’s possible He is about ready to give you exactly what you keep begging for. But keep in mind:
Sometimes when God says, “Yes,” it’s a judgment. On the other hand, bear in mind that some of God’s most gracious answers were, “No.”
God often keeps quiet about what He allows—and refuses. Only eternity will reveal how often God’s best answer to us was to say nothing.
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Tell me what you think: When has God been gracious to you by saying, “No”? To leave a comment, just click here.