Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Do you believe that a no from God is just as good as a yes from God? If we trust that God knows exactly what we need, exactly when we need it, that means that if we come to Him in prayer and He says no, we should trust that that's the best thing for us. But I'll be honest, there are plenty of days where I think I know what's best for me, and so I'll come before God, all prepared with all the things that I want. I'll pray it out, and then I'll finish it with, and God, I'm trusting You to do this for me.
Well, our trust in God is that He's going to do what He knows is best for us, not always what we think we need in the moment. I have a question for you: How do you feel when God tells you no when you're asking Him for something? Does that bring you confusion? Does that make you question God, or do you truly believe that His no can be just as good as a yes? Well, that's a lesson that we can learn from our verse today.
Let's turn to our Bibles. We're gonna read from 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 9. The Apostle Paul says, "Each time He said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me."
Paul's Thorn and God's Answer
In the previous verses, Paul is sharing that he's going through some torment, and we're not sure exactly what it is. Maybe there was a believer in the church that was just giving him some extra problems. Some people believe that as he was losing his eyesight, he was starting to grieve and mourn that he wouldn't be able to write these letters on his own. Whatever it is, this metaphorical thorn in Paul's side, he asks God three times to remove it. What we learn here is that three times God actually told the apostle no.
You'd think a guy like Paul, a godly foundation in the early church, would know exactly what he needed according to the Spirit. Yet we're told that he actually didn't know. God wasn't saying no because He didn't love Paul, and He wasn't saying no because He didn't care about Paul or didn’t want to help Paul. It was that there was something different that God wanted to do in his life. There was something that He wanted to teach him.
Why God Might Say No
What can we take away from this? What can we learn when God tells us no in our prayer lives? Well, there's a lot of reasons why He might say no, but a couple that I would love to share with you today.
First is you might not realize what you're asking for. I've had times in my life where I've prayed for something over and over and over, and it just didn't happen. It wasn't until later on that I realized, thank goodness that God didn't answer that prayer, because it was not at all what I thought it would be. God was actually protecting me, and God wants to protect you. Sometimes He's going to say no because you don't actually know what you might be inviting into your life.
Another reason He might say no is He's just saying not yet. God's timing is perfect, way better than our own. We might be asking for something too soon or too late, and it might not be in accordance with His will. God might be saying no right now because He wants to bring it later, and He might want to teach you patience, perseverance, and to press into Him. Maybe there's a reason that He's holding it off. Maybe there's something He wants to do in you before He does it around you. Whatever it is, we can trust that God's timing is even better.
There also might be times where He just wants to say no so that He can show you something better. There's going to be times where He's not saying eventually or down the road, He's just flat out saying no. It's not because He wants to hold anything good from you. It's because He wants to give you something perfect.
Boasting in Weakness
Right here we see what Paul's lesson is. God was saying no because He wanted to show Paul just how powerful He was. He said, you can boast in your weakness. That's a crazy idea. I usually try to hide my weaknesses, and my guess is that most of you probably do too. But Paul's not just saying he's okay with his weakness. He's actually getting to this place where he's boasting in it because God is still working powerfully through him and around him. He says, God's strength is made perfect through that very weakness, because the power of Christ was working through him.
I want to say, if you're praying for something and it just feels like God's saying no, that's okay, because His no is just as good as His yes. Your weaknesses can be worked through because the power of Christ is working through all of us. Continue to ask, continue to seek, continue to knock. But just know that whatever God gives you, it's going to be perfect for you in the perfect time.