Undoubtedly, as you have walked with Christ
through the
years, you feel that God has withheld things from you. This is
often times best
articulated by thinking that God has said “No” to a particular
prayer request
or desire that you have. With the passage of time and the gaining
of
perspective, you also undoubtedly are thankful that God didn’t
grant you some
of your desires! But, more somberly, perhaps you have wondered why
God did not
answer a prayer that you felt was very important and significant.
At least
twice in past years, I can recall times where God said “No” to
what I felt were
great ministry opportunities. Again, looking back, I can see why
He said “No”
to one of them, but still wonder at His purposes at saying “No” to
the other.
You can probably very well relate to such occasions in your own
life and times
with Christ.
One of the great comforts and encouragements of
our life with
Christ is to know that Christ can understand all of our sadness,
temptations
and difficulties firsthand. He came and walked among us and knows
the
difficulties of living in a fallen world. The writer to the
Hebrews makes this
very clear, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with
our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as
we are, yet
without sin.” (4:15). Jesus knows and understands all that we go
through and
this does provide great comfort for us. The writer continues in
verse 16,
encouraging us that in light of Christ’s sympathy, we should
“…with confidence
draw near to the throne of grace,…”
One of the more compelling questions about God
and Christ is
this, “Was Jesus ever refused a prayer request by God his Father?”
Our quick reaction
to this would be to say “No way!” How could the perfect Son of God
ever be
refused anything from His Father? All of his requests would be
pure and right
and holy. How could God the Father ever refuse anything the Son
asked? And yet,
in the Garden of Gethesemane, this is exactly what happens. Jesus,
in great
agony, goes to His Father in prayer and beseeches Him, “Father, if
you are
willing, remove this cup from me.” (Luke 22.42) Of course, the cup
that Jesus
desires to have removed is the upcoming events of the crucifixion
where Jesus
will bear the sins of mankind, experience extreme physical agony
and, much more
trying, separation from His Father. The text does not mention any
verbal
response from God the Father, but we know that the answer to this
request was “No”.
Friends, as hard as some refusals from God may
be, you will
never experience a “No” like this one. Words fail when trying to
describe the
interactions between God the Father and God the Son in these
events. Indeed,
the heavenly transactions occurring in these hours are beyond our
mortal minds
to comprehend, even though we live and rejoice in the implications
and results
of these hours. Thus, when you sense from God a refusal of
something you
desire, you would do well to look back into the Garden of
Gethesemane and meditate
upon this “No”. God’s love for Jesus never ceased. His affection
for him never
faltered. Indeed, God’s heart broke in ways we’ll never know as He
forsook His
own Son. Again, you will never experience a “No” like this.
Thus, when you are sensing a refusal from God
about any
particular issue or desire, the God-glorifying response is also
found in Luke
22:42, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Bring to
mind that God
is sovereignly overseeing even the perceived “No’s” that He puts
in your life.
Your desire is for His perfect will, not your own. Thus, trust God
when the “No”
comes and declare with Jesus your desire for His glory and will
and not your
own. Jesus can indeed sympathize with your “No”. His “No” was of a
far greater
magnitude than anything you and I will ever experience.
Sola Deo Gloria!
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