No And Wait

I have heard it said that God always answers our prayers. They say He answers our prayers with, "Yes. No. Wait."

We love it when God answers with yes. This can come in many shapes. He says yes to the chosen spouse. Yes to children. Yes to a home, a vehicle, to a new job, and a host of other blessings. We rejoice when God says yes. We celebrate when God says yes. We testify when God says yes.

We don't love so much when God says no. Let's back up for a moment. Does God truly love us? If you believe He does what is the proof of that love.
John 3:16 (ESV) 
¹⁶  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)
⁸  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

If God loves us and if He has proven that love through giving Jesus to reconcile sinners to Himself, then does God want to harm us? Is it the desire of God to do bad things to His children? Think about that before you answer. Think of the person with cancer, the family coping with the death of a loved one from a car accident, people devastated by hurricanes, people who feel abandoned and forsaken by the very God they love. Does God really want to do good for those people. 

How many prayed for healing but the healing did not come this side of eternity. God's answer was no. How many prayed for God's protection over their family and still the accident happened and the hurricane along with flooding still came. The answer for protection of at least property seemed to be no. Sometimes God's no is for a relationship, a new job, a new direction or opportunity, or being able to see a dream realized. 

When God says no does that mean He is any less loving. At times when I told my children no it was because I loved them. My no was for their well being in their best interest. My no brought protection and preserved them for the very best. My no was in fact the fullest expression of my love. 

Is it any different with God. When He says no can we trust it is for our good. It is God's fullest expression of love to protect us. His no may disappoint but that is only because we do not see things as He sees. We do not know all the facts. We cannot see the future and what He has planned. 

Neither do we like it when God says wait. Our society is fast paced. We live in a hurry. We have expressways. We have fast foods. We have microwave dinners. We have instant communications. In all of this sometimes God says wait. He puts a stop sign in our path. He throws a red light on the road of life. Why does He make us wait? His timing is perfect. It may not appear that way. Just as the red light comes at inconvenient times it also serves to protect us from oncoming traffic. His delays are far our good. 

God's most consistent answers to many prayers I have prayed for a long time are no and wait. It has been disappointing. I have many times been frustrated by His no and His wait. 

He is still at work orchestrating His masterpiece, weaving His maser design, and perfecting His plan. 

I grow weary of His nos and His waits. This is only when I quit looking at Him and look at my world. He knows what He is doing. He knows far better than any of us. 

Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV) 
⁸  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 
⁹  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.