When Getting Your Way Is Not Good, Not Good At All
May 23, 2018·Elizabeth Ewens
Years ago, a precious friend of mine went through a painful, humiliating divorce. She and her husband were ministers and had fruitful ministry. But he failed, big time. After that heartbreaking season, I asked my friend why she thought God told her to marry him. I mean, if God knew the husband was going to fail so blatantly, why hadn’t God warned her not to marry him? She confessed that God had told her no, but she had set her heart on him and ignored God’s direction. All I could do was cry with her. And learn from her.
In our Pause Bible Reading Plan, today we see this principle in the Bible. Now, I have always enjoyed reading about the adventures of the Children of Israel. God does a miracle, they are saved, they give praise, and then a couple sentences later they are whining again. Really!?!? Yup, I feel like I am reading my story.
Then we get to I Samuel 10 and this part scares me. I mean, really scares me — sit-up-straight-and-read-it-again, Elizabeth, kind of scared. God has made it clear that He is the God and King of Israel, but they keep asking Him to give them a king because they want to be like the other nations around them. God reminds them that He is their King, but they whine and ask again, and again, for another king. Then, here is the part that scares me – I Samuel 10:17-19:
Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the LORD at Mizpah and said to them, “This what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”
God actually allowed what they kept asking for! If I keep asking for something when God has said no, there is a point where He will allow what I keep asking for. And it won’t be good for me. Ever. Never. Not good. Because, by not accepting God’s direction, I am rejecting God. That sounds harsh, but that’s what it says in the scripture above: “But you have now rejected your God…” I don’t ever want to reject my God.
So, what should I do when God says NO?
1. Believe that God loves me, and He knows what’s best.
2. Accept His answer. It’s NO.
3. Thank Him for guiding me, protecting me and watching over me.
4. Then, Elizabeth, move on, with a grateful heart.
I love that God loves us so much, that He’s willing to say NO when that’s best.
Oh, if you’re wondering what happened to the Children of Israel with their new king, keep reading. (Spoiler Alert: They got what they wanted, much to their demise. And, of course, they blamed God when things went bad. Why do we do that?)
Pastor Elizabeth Ewens
