God has been teaching me so much
this week. Perhaps, in fairness to Him, I should say that He’s always teaching,
but I’m listening extra hard right now, so I’m learning. I wonder how
many things I don’t learn, not because He’s not teaching, but fully because I’m
not listening. That’s a topic for another day.
But
I wanted to share with you one of these lessons I learned this week. Maybe it’s
just for me, but I have a feeling it might be meaningful to someone else too.
How
many times do you hear someone talk about something that went well for them,
and they say, “What an answer to prayer!”
I
don’t want to make light of it. An affirmative response from the Lord to
something we have begged to receive is worthy of celebration indeed.
But
sometimes the answer is no. And no is still an answer. It may not
be the answer we want, but it’s still an answer. (I think we know this, but it
bears repeating.)
This,
though, was the part God drove home to my heart this week. Sometimes when we
beg and beg for God to do something for us, and He says no…and we continue to
beg and beg…there’s a chance He may eventually say yes.
And
goodness – how quick we are to celebrate it!
But
do we ever consider that when we get that yes we crave so deeply, our
yes might mean that someone else, praying equally hard about the same thing
from a different end, now hears the no?
I
fear I have been so caught up in praising for the yes…the answer I want
and perhaps sometimes even demand…that I never consider the person who heard no
in order for me to hear a yes.
It
was such a sobering lesson for me. As I wrote to a friend, “As I have reflected
on this, it made me wonder how many times a thing of joy and beauty for me has
only been made possible because of a grief or loss for someone else. How many
times does my celebration leave a wide swath of destruction elsewhere? May I
not miss this as I pray. May I consider that when praying for an answer that in
my yes, someone else may be grieving a no."
Make
no mistake: I believe we should pray boldly. But I also believe we should
respect God when His answer is no. And I believe we should tenderly remember
those who may grieve a loss so we can celebrate a victory.
2 comments:
Huh. This makes so much sense but I haven't thought about it that way before. Like when we celebrate getting a job, who is mourning not getting that job? And that's just one thing. Thank you for sharing this.
Natasha - I hadn't thought of it either! And I am sure sometimes there isn't necessarily a no for a person in order for someone else to get a yes. But I would imagine that often...there is. And I don't want to bulldoze over that in my mind as I celebrate my joy!
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