When God Gives You a "No"

 

I came across this quote yesterday, and I really felt like it was fitting for where we are right now. This summer has been really busy and somewhat difficult in a number of ways. Don't get me wrong; we have seen a lot of encouraging things through our church plant. We have seen a lot of spiritual growth in individual members, and we are excited about the months ahead as we settle back into our normal rhythms for the fall and gear up for a possible launch in the winter. And God has been faithful {as He always is} to provide for us.

 

But it feels like we have been in a season of hearing "no" which has really started to wear on both of us. Whether it was not the answers we wanted to hear about insurance/medication cost, Mike's job not yielding the results that we feel match his efforts, or me battling sickness off and on that has resulted in more "not well" days than "well" ones...it has just been a difficult few months on a personal level.

 

We were talking this week about how we know the right things to say to ourselves: God works all things out for our good. He has a better plan for us than we have for ourselves. He will provide. He just wants our faithful obedience. But in seasons like these, it is really hard to believe those things to be true. We know they are, but for some reason the encouragement that comes from those truths takes a little longer to fill and nourish our souls.

 

Through the frustration and the disappointment, Mike has really led us well in still giving praise to Jesus for who He is and how He takes care of us. We may not understand the how or why behind the "no's" but it's important for us to continue reminding ourselves of the above truths. Just because they are harder to see/believe in the midst of our circumstances doesn't make them any less true. God is still good.

 

Today, I take comfort in the above quote. I say "thank you, Jesus" for knowing what's best for us and protecting us from less than that.