When His Answer is ‘No”
This is something we all have experienced. It may have been for ourselves or for a loved one. The causes are multiple. Perhaps there was a disability resulting from birth or an accident that occurred causing limitation of function. Diseases of all kinds may have produced chronic suffering without any relief. Situations with our families, our neighborhoods, or workplaces may be trying and difficult, yet they continue without any resolution. In some cultures, those who follow Christ are shunned, persecuted, and even killed. In each of these situations, we seek the Lord and ask for healing of our infirmities, physical protection, or alteration of the circumstances which are such a pressure to us. Despite our continuing prayers, however, His answer to our repeated requests has been “No.”
His answer to me when I was 14 years of age was “No” when He took my mother to be with Him. His answer for the healing of my wife was “No” when He gathered her into His arms and took her to heaven 2 and 1/2 years ago. Again He answered “No” when He took my oldest daughter home to be with Him 2 years ago. Many others have experienced His “No” during illnesses or lifelong debilitating illnesses. Although the Lord does not give us specific reasons for why He allows His children to be in distress and disease, He does offer us some clues in His word as to why His answer is sometimes “No.”
II Corinthians 1:3-4 is as follows. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” In this passage, the Lord assures us that He comforts us in whatever situation we are in. His purpose for doing so is that we might extend the comfort we have received from Him to others who have similar afflictions. Everyone can provide comfort to others by praying with them and for them. Scriptures that are shared in a wise, timely manner may also be used by the Lord to provide comfort. The greatest degree of comfort, however, comes from those who have experienced and are experiencing what others are going through. They have walked or are walking where others walk. The pain they experience has been felt by them. The depth of comfort is greater when provided by those whom the Lord has permitted to go through similar trials. They are used by Him for His Glory in a profound way that no one else can provide.
II Corinthians 12:7-10 is a familiar passage to many. “To keep from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then i am strong.” Because the Grace of the Lord was sufficient, he no longer looked to his own wisdom or abilities, instead, he celebrated in his weakness. It was in learning compete dependence that the power of Christ was made perfect in and through his life. Most of us are yet to learn this lesson. We still depend somewhat on our own efforts. It is only as we are conscious of our weakness, perhaps through infirmity permitted by His Grace, that we learn that His Grace is sufficient, and that we can trust in His perfect control of our lives.
Philippians 3:10 also sheds light on a reason for suffering. “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” We all want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, but Paul continues with this additional comment, “and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.” It is helpful to look at John 17:3 in order to understand the purpose of sharing in His sufferings. It states the following, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Eternal life is equated with the knowledge of Christ. The sufferings we are permitted to have enable us to know Him more deeply, increasing our appreciation of the unity we have with Him, and deepening our trust in Him.
II Corinthians 4:17 suggests another reason for our ongoing trials. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Here the Lord is actually saying that the very things in our lives that we are going through, the heart aches, the disappointments, the tribulations of disease and difficulties, are the very substance which He is using to produce an eternal glory for us! He is using the momentary sufferings to produce an eternal benefit! None of them are wasted. Every one has a purpose to produce eternal joy and pleasures at His Right Hand! They, themselves, are being used by Him for His Glory and our eternal benefit.
Revelation 2:10 also reminds us that the Lord sets a time limit on our trials. “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days.” Only ten days! The Lord controls every action of our enemy. The devil is only permitted to interfere with our lives in order to accomplish the purpose of the Lord in and through us. I also like the thought of His control of our daily struggles as expressed by Habakkuk 2:3. (Living Bible) “But these things I plan won’t happen right away, Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient. It will not be overdue a single day.” The relief that God has designed for each of us will not be overdue a single day!
We also have a promise from the Lord in Daniel 3:23-25. As Tony Evans describes this verse, “It is a promise that if the Lord does not deliver us from, He will join us in.” “And these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? They replied, ‘Certainly, O king,’ He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around the fire unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’” As stated in Deuteronomy 31:8, “The Lord Himself will go before you. He will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid and don’t worry.”
The most foundational truth in the life of a Christian is the assurance that all sins have been atoned for, that they are now united with Christ through His resurrection and that He is their life. The second most foundational truth is the sovereignty of God. In the life of a Christian, there are no accidents, only incidents. The words chance and coincidence should be removed from their vocabulary. Each second of their lives is governed by His infinite knowledge, His perfect control, and His infinite love. All hindrances to His answer to our needs are but to help His eternal purpose in some way we cannot understand. There is always a meaning in His delay.
We can, therefore, have full confidence in Him and His purpose in our lives as stated in Philippians 1:6. “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
In Christ, Richard Spann