God never says NO unto nothing.

I have struggled, like many before, with God saying, “no.” In particular, when God declines to move, act, or allow what seems blatantly within His stated desires. Either God was inefficient or I misunderstood something.

I misunderstood.

Sometimes, I have found, God choosing one value over another. Often it feels like He will choose the “smaller” of the two (or three or ...). For example, God pushed the apostle Paul into a decade-long, desert experience (small, personal) instead of using Paul’s obvious talents and history to accomplish much (big, many people).

But God never says “no” unto nothing. He is always causing/creating something. Even in the dark times, God is often drawing with fluorescent ink :-) It’s not until we are given a black-light (i.e. God’s insight/illumination) that we can see what used to look like “nothing.”

When God says “no,” though, it’s still very difficult. Even when I know He’s drawing with invisible ink, it’s frustrating, hurtful, etc. [Note: especially when He draws in my kids’ lives]

So I struggle with God. I wrestle with Him and antagonize Him when He says, “no.”

Murray Moerman taught me something deep today. He said in regard to a particular frustration of mine, “Did God say ‘no’? In other words, did God say, ‘Stop praying’?”

Whoa. Sometimes God says, “keep praying but I’m not giving you want you’re asking for yet.” Sometimes God says, “No.” I am wrestling with this. Maybe God needed a break from me wrestling with Him.