When God Says No

When intercession saturates a matter, when prayer and fasting go before us, when we rally others to join us in the Throne Room, when we believe we are asking according to the will of God — and God says, “No”— what are we to do?

Recently, with the blow of a NO, the Holy Spirit gently guided me to live in the passage of Scripture found in Habakkuk 3:17-18. The prophet wrote:

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.

Why is this particular portion of the Bible so crucial for gaining mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional traction? The words though and yet unlock the answer.

“Our heavenly Father never asks us to deny the facts. ”

Our heavenly Father never asks us to deny the facts. Though acknowledges the facts; Yet acknowledges God! We stare at facts, and then we make the decision to stare into the Face of God.

When you and I decide to turn from the disappointment of our circumstances to the delight of His Person (from the emptiness of our realities to the security of His Sovereignty) we discover a strength and stability beyond belief. The sweetness of His No satisfies more deeply than all imaginations of our human concoctions of Yes. He saves us from ourselves and supernaturally enables us to move forward and move upward, to the heights above the bare vines, failed crops, empty pens, and vacant stalls of our lives.

You and I are left with one more question: What will I do when God says, “No”?

                           Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“He has also set eternity in the heart of man” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

What are we to do when:

Healing seems unlikely.

A relationship breaks off.

The promotion goes to a colleague.

A pregnancy remains unrealized.

The entrance exam misses the mark.

A job opportunity falls through.

A business deal collapses.

Visits to the ICU grow more frequent.

Yet another adoption possibility suffers denial.

A pathology report returns positive.

An interview gets turned down.

A long-prayed prayer is denied.

Praising Him in hard places is pure praise indeed. We must make the choice to turn to His Word: “But the righteous will live by faith” (Habakkuk 2: 4).

What situation do you recall when you experienced our topic: When God Says “No”?

How did you move forward to embrace His will?

Your input is valued. Thank you for taking the time to comment.

We Were There

We Were There: A Personal Take on the Jesus Revolution

The unseasonably warm weather hijacked our after-church plans, and Larry and I eagerly headed for a robust two-mile walk on our favorite trail. Upon returning to our car, we took still another turn toward spontaneity; we bought tickets to see the Jesus Revolution.

As we settled into the recliners nestling our individual buckets of popcorn, we wondered what it would be like to look back — not as hippies — but as ordinary university students who witnessed the touch of God in a movement of revival that spread from sea to shining sea.

Oh, my! The film portrays an epic period when God visited this nation with an unusual outpouring of His Spirit. More than just a walk down memory lane for Baby Boomers, the movie recounts the life of California pastor Chuck Smith, who accepted the challenge to become God’s change agent at a time of social upheaval and political unrest in the United States. For those of us who witnessed firsthand those heady days of revival, it takes us back to revisit the dramatic movement of The Holy Spirit on our campuses and in our churches.

We Were There

We were there is a gripping statement consistently expressed by moviegoers, individuals who read their own stories along with the events played out on the screen. Indeed, Larry and I were no exception. We were there. And we have never been the same.

We were there at Explo ’72, the international student conference on evangelism held in Dallas, Texas, in June 1972.

We were there among the 80,000 thousand students in the Cotton Bowl who heard the booming voice of Billy Graham calling us to a lifetime of radical commitment to Christ.

We were there in some barren open field for the massive outdoor “revival rally” when Johnny Cash (joined on stage by Kris Kristofferson, Love Song, and Andraé Crouch and The Disciples) inspired everyone in the audience to stand and sing like we were heaven’s choir itself.

We were there when the copy of Time magazine hit the newsstands and forced America to sit up and take notice of Jesus and His radical followers.

And we were there in the theatre when the Jesus Revolution movie ended and the credits rolled. Others exited, but we sat riveted in our seats. With tears streaming down our cheeks, the two of us realized that the greatest credit of all goes to God Himself — God Who gave us His Son and left us His Spirit.

Back in that unusual spiritual season, God began a true Jesus Revolution in our own individual hearts. We were there. And, by His amazing grace, we are still here. God help us! May we not let up or give up til our work on earth is done, and He calls us Home to that great and glorious eternal Jesus Revolution.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“He has also set eternity in their hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Quotes from the movie:

“There’s an entire generation searching for God.”

“If you want to reach my people, you’ve got to speak a language they understand.”

“You say you are looking for truth. I think you are just looking for an excuse to be unhappy.”

“Desperation — there is power in that word!”

“Don’t be so arrogant as to think that God can’t work through your failures.”

Questions regarding the movie:

Have you seen the movie? If so, what did you think of it?

Were you or someone you know alive at the time this movie chronicles?

Why do you think God has orchestrated this movie for “Such a time as this”?

How does the Holy Spirit want to use this story to make a difference in your own life?

A Life-Changing Easter

At this moment in your life, where do you long for God to roll away the stone?

For a few moments, write yourself into The Story on that early Easter morning. No Starbucks, no Egg McMuffin, no grab-and-go breakfast bar. Just a broken heart and a grief-stricken question: “Who will roll away the stone?”

What we know:

It was just after sunrise, and three women faced a challenging, emotional task. Someone dear to them died the day before, and they took it upon themselves to anoint the Body for a proper burial. They knew the location. Staring at a problem of gigantic proportion, they asked themselves the question, “Who will roll away the stone?”

What we don’t know:

• Who first raised the question? Was it Mary Magdalene, or Mary the mother of James, or was it Salome?

• Why had they not thought of this before now?

• Was the question one of worry and anxiety or just a concern for the obstacle?

What they discovered:

Their ordinary question received an extraordinary answer! When they looked up, the stone was rolled away and the empty tomb confirmed the resurrection!

As the Scriptures record:

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed, he said. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen!” (Mark 16:1-6).

Our place in the Story:

In our life journey, like the ladies, we grapple with the obstacle: “Who will roll away the stone?”

In our finances, in our family, in our future?

In our habits, in our hearts, in our hopelessness?

Yet when we look up—like Mary, Mary, and Salome—we discover that God, in His glorious faithfulness, has already rolled away the stone. Just when needed, His grace for the moment is greater than the stone, regardless of its size.

But there is more:

God always longs to accomplish a greater miracle than just rolling away the stone. In our finances, in our family, in our future, in our habits, in our hearts, and in our hopelessness, He desires to display the Resurrection of His Son!

Dear One, may this be the most life-changing Easter you have ever experienced, and may you and I pray together: Father, as I write myself into this Easter Story, I ask You to roll away the stone in every crack and crevice of my life, and reveal the glorious Resurrection of Jesus, my Lord and my God.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

1. How would you have felt if you were walking with the women on that early morning, just after sunrise?

2. What would your concerns have been? Would you have been worried and anxious?

3. Where do you need God to roll away the stone in your current circumstances?

4. What would it look like not only for the stone to be removed, but for the Resurrection to be displayed in that situation?