Sometimes the Answer is No

I've learned that I have to be open to God's direction. We ask for his guidance and pray for things. And while the answer always comes, sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes it is not now. Isn't that hard to learn? We want what we want when we want it. In a culture of instant gratification and me first, it is doubly hard to take no for an answer.

Today, I listened in Bible Study as Beth Moore spoke about the symbolic significance of the golden lampstand in the tabernacle. Each branch of the lampstand had buds, blossoms and flowers. This could represent the stages of the growing season. Springtime- we plant seeds, we see trees return from dormancy and begin to bud with new growth. Summer-we have a season of waiting for the plants to mature enough for harvest. Growth continues but it is harder to see on a daily basis. Fall-harvest, it's time to reap the results of the maturing summer. These could point to seasons in us. As believers, we are continually going through budding of new growth, a summer season of maturing and waiting for the fruit to be ready.

The hardest part is the waiting. Waiting for things to advance, for us to see results, for the answer to be what we want.

It is hard to understand when the answer is no or not right now. We cannot fathom the mind of God and we know that He works all things together for our good, but it is so hard to wait to see that resulting work.

May the Lord grant us an openness to His will, a contentment in His time. Even when we don't understand and the answer is no, it is the right answer. No matter how painful it is at the time.






*I am studying A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place by Beth Moore for my Bible Study this fall. I am loving it.