Have you ever prayed… asking God about something and then you hear “NO!” You probably looked away, denied His answer, and tried to convince yourself that this “No” was from your own mind. That the enemy was trying to rob you from your blessing and so on.

There you go and disobey. And now, about 3 months later, you realize it was indeed God telling you “No” or even “Not yet”. But you were so hurt in that moment by that answer. An answer that was going against every cells of your body, going against the very will of your being, that you wouldn’t believe that our loving God could put you in such position.

Recently, I received a “No” from God. For a quick minute, I tried to deny it. But then, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and turned away from what I wanted. And the Lord knows how much I need that prayer to be answered. Nonetheless I simply believed.

I might not know what He’s doing. But what I know is that God is faithful and that I can and will trust Him.

So often, when we think about God’s answer to our prayers – and the answer being “No” – people are so quick to say it’s a redirection or a protection. However, more than that, it’s a blessing. It is such an opportunity for us to see God move. To have a chance to witness up-close His glory and be able to say “God did it!”

You have to come to a point where you truly embrace His “No’s”.

Let Him surprise you.

When God tells you “No” or “Not yet”, your response should be: “NOW WHAT?!” You should be expectant of a move, an action from Him. Stop asking Him what your next move should be, ask Him what His is.

Let yourself be rapt in wonder, amazed, fascinated, captivated, mesmerized, enchanted, thrilled, transported, blissed out… hey, I can go on.

Have faith like little children. Let Him bring you to that ecstatic joy of a baby who discovers his toes for the first time. Or the fascination of a kid who just learned and understood the word “why”.

God wants to do something new, but you need to trust Him. And as I am writing that, God is saying that something new isn’t always something that didn’t exist before, or something you has never seen. Sometimes, “new” is something that is old that God is bringing to a new light, and your vision about it is shifting. Sometimes, “new” is God bringing you to a new dimension, so you can see those things through a new lens.

Sometimes, “No” is simply God asking for space to move into our lives. In a hustle and grind and busy, busy, busy culture where everybody wants to be independent, we tend to forget that God also asked us to rest in Him, to be still and to know that He is God. Matter of fact, He asked us to rest every week.

Lately, I’ve been living in that season of “No” and you know what, it’s glorious!

I have lacked nothing in the past 3 months. May I dare say that I’m living in abundance. The psalmist said it so perfectly: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Can you imagine being so confident in God’s goodness, faithfulness, and grace, that you don’t even want anything? That the concept of lack is unknown to you? I don’t know about you, but this is where I’m heading.

I chose to obey even when the answer was “No”. I chose to seek the kingdom first and to let Him add everything unto me. I chose to celebrate “No”.

Keep in your heart that God can move, and that God wants to move.

“No” is a blessing where you get to see God move, where you get to see His glory.

“Surprends-moi!” has been my prayer lately. Try it and see how it can change your life.

Go be blessed!

HLL