Thoughts for Life: SOMETIMES GOD SAYS NO

sometimes God says no Ken Barnes- "Sometimes, God gives us what we need, not what we want.

In Series 3 of The Chosen, Jesus encounters a disciple called Little James, who is depicted as disabled. James wants Jesus to heal him before He goes on a mission to heal others. Jesus tells him that He could heal him on the spot, but He has something different in mind for him.

In the Bible, James the Less is never shown to be disabled. Still, the enactment illustrates a scriptural truth: God, in His sovereign foreknowledge, sometimes says no to give us something better. In relation to James’ situation, the reason given was that a disabled man praying for the healing of another would significantly impact the kingdom of God.

I believe God heals—and I have seen many healings—but I have also fasted and prayed fervently for others whom God did not heal. In the cases where the sickness was unto death, it can be heartbreaking to family and friends. Nonetheless, God can be after something higher than the miracle we seek.

I have been in churches where people come in seeking a miracle, and God does not grant them their request. They tend to lose interest in church activities, and we often never see them again. They obliviously were seeking the gift rather than the giver.

When Jesus’ disciples returned from a successful missionary journey, they rejoiced that even demons were subject to them in Christ’s name. Jesus’ retort, however, was, “But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven” (Luke 10:20 NLT).

No matter what you receive or don’t receive from God's hand, rejoice that your name is written in heaven. You will never see a greater miracle than the salvation of a soul."

"So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times, I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time, he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:7b-8, 9a NLT

(Photo courtesy of pixabay and Greyerbaby.)

Let's pray-

Father, what we want does not necessarily be what we need. The story today tells of a young man who wanted to be healed, so he could pray for the healing of others. It was not granted, as Jesus had something different in mind for him.
You, in Your sovereign foreknowledge, do sometimes say "No," to give us something better. The inactment above showed the impacting of the kingdom, that God would give something better.
We need to believe that You do heal, and that in cases where the sickness is unto death, You are to be trusted to help those involved to find something higher that the miracle they sought.
Some come into churches seeking a miracle, and when it's not granted, they lose interest in the church activities and leave, never to come again. It is obvious that they weren't seeking You, but wanted a particular gift.
When Jesus' disciples returned from a successful missionary journey, they rejoiced that even demons were subject to them in Christ's name! Jesus said to them that they were to rather rejoice because their names were registered in heaven!
No matter what we receive or don't receive from Your hand, help us rejoice that our names are written in heaven, that it is a greater miracle; the salvation of our souls.
We pray in the name of Jesus for understanding and enlightment, to trust in Your hearing and answering our prayers as You would see best. Amen

# 53- A Quote- A prayer by Dick Leggatt-

"Lord, I confess that lately I have been tempted to give up. Circumstances have pressed in upon me, and thoughts have come to me about not going on anymore. Please forgive me for entertaining such thought.

Lord Jesus, I focus now upon the example You set. Even facing crucifixion, You set Your face like flint to go to Jerusalem, the very place where you would face betrayal, pain and death. I join you now in setting my face like flint to move forward in God's purposes. Thank You for giving me the strength and the grace to move ahead. I look to You, the Author of my faith, and I declare that I will move forward with endurance.

I place all the circumstances I am facing right now in Your hands. They are Yours to deal with, Lord. My job is to cling to You and move forward in Your will. So this is my proclamation: I am moving forward in Your strength and in Your grace. Amen.

Now, it is time for us to move forward with a new sense of encouragement. Together, we fix our eyes on the Author of our faith, who endured hostility and suffering at the hand of men without flinching or turning to the right or to the left." Dick Leggatt

(From April issue of Herald of His Coming 2024)

1291-1295One-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted-

1291- Pro. 28:21a "To have respect of persons is not good."

1292- Ps. 119:170 "Let my supplication come before thee; deliver me according to thy word."

1293- Ecc. 5:2a "Be not rash with they mouth."

1294- Jer. 1:17a "Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise."

1295- Job 17:15a "And where is now my hope?"

#53 Hymn- O Worship the King

The information about this song, is taken from the book by Robert J. Morgan, THEN SINGS MY SOUL (pg. 109)

"In 1832, Robert Grant was appointed Judge Advocate General. This hymn was published in 1833, and he was knighted in 1834. He died in India, land of his early childhood on July 9, 1838. A nearby medical college was built in his honor and named for him. But his most lasting memorial is this majestic hymn of praise, calling us to worship the King of kings."

Some encouraging words-

"The connection between the prayer life and the Spirit life is close and lasting. It is not merely that we can receive the Spirit through prayer, but the Spirit life requires, as an indispensable thing, a continuous prayer life. This is very evident in the life of our Lord. A study of His life will give us a wonderful view of the power and holiness of prayer."

(Pg. 41 ofThe PRAYER LIFE by Andrew Murray)

Upcoming posts:

9/28th- WALKING ANEW- Patricia Ranbow

10/5th- HOW DO YOU LOVE GOD?- Dave Butts

12th- SEARCH ME O GOD- Lois J. Stucky