WHAT DO WE DO WHEN GOD SAYS NO

April 30, 2023  Pastor Sam Goins

“Call to me and I will answer you...”  Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)

CAUTION: Use these to comfort yourself, NEVER EVER use them with someone in pain, because you don’t know why God said no to them.

 UNDERSTAND GOD SAYS ‘NO’ WHEN HE HAS

1. ____________________________________________

“He knows about everyone everywhere. Everything about us is bare and wide open to the all-seeing eyes of our living God; nothing can be hidden from Him...”                       Hebrews 4:13 (LB)

“(God) guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones.”      Proverbs 2:8 (NIV)

2.  ______________________________________________________

God: “This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For My ways are higher than yours.”  Isaiah 55:8-9 (LB)

“These were commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned SOMETHING BETTER...”  Hebrews 11:39-40 (NIV)

“I cry out to God Most High, who fulfills his purpose for me.” Psalm 57:2 (NIV)

“The purpose of these troubles is to test your faith as fire tests how genuine gold is. Your faith is more precious than gold.”  1 Peter 1:7 (GW)

“These present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they will produce in us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So, we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.”               2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NLT) 

“There are some things the Lord our God has kept secret, but there are some things he has let us know.”      Deuteronomy 29:29 (NCV) 

WHAT SHOULD I DO WHEN GOD SAYS ‘NO’?

1. TRUST _____________________________________________________________

“All the ways of the Lord are loving...”  Psalm 25:10 (NIV)

“In everything God works for the good of those who love Him.”  Romans 8:28 (ICB)

I DON’T HAVE TO _________________________________ TO KNOW THAT IT IS MOTIVATED BY LOVE.

2. WHEN IN PAIN, PRAY _______________________________________________________

“Going a little farther, Jesus fell to the ground praying that, if possible, he might not have to suffer what was ahead of him. Jesus prayed ‘Abba! My Father! All things are possible for you! Please take this cup of suffering away from me! Yet I want your will, not mine, to be done!’”  Mark 14:35-36

3. EXPECT ___________________________________________________________

(Paul) “Three times I prayed to the Lord about this and asked him to take it away. But his answer was: ‘My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.’ So, I gladly boast about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power can flow through me! ...For when I am weak, then I am strong!”   2 Corinthians 12:8-10  

“Those who know you, Lord, will trust you! You do not abandon anyone who comes to you!”       Psalm 9:10 (TEV)