Becoming HIS Tapestry

Christian Lifestyle Blogger

THANK YOU FOR THE ‘NO’

Hey friends, how are you today? Unlike yesterday, which was a bright, beautiful, cloudless, sunny day, today is a dark, gloomy, cloudy, and sunless day.  The threat of snow is in the air, as a matter of fact, we are under a winter storm advisory.  Our meteorologist think it is a minor threat for those of us who live in the upstate of Upstate NY.  Although our snow levels are down, three to six inches of snow is really not a big deal, in my neck of woods.   We have the tendency to count our snow totals in feet! What’s the weather like in your neck of the woods?

My first job, on my way to college was as a sales rep for an encyclopedia company (yes… I suppose that tells my age).  Although computers were a thing, very few people could actually afford the thing! I don’t know what I was thinking at the time, I should have known better.  But at the time, I just wanted a job; well actually, I just wanted money; shopping was already in my DNA.   Anyway, should also have known that if you could not afford a computer, buying a set of encyclopedias would also be out of the budget.  Needless to say, I heard the answer ‘no’ quite often.  I only lasted a week, enough time for one person to have pity on me and purchased a set, for which I was very grateful.

For quite a few years, I must admit I took the answer ‘no’ as a very personal rejection.  The negative answer somehow promoted the idea that I failed in some way.  I could not seem to differentiate between a veto to my request from a veto to me! The answer no left me with a feeling of insignificance, especially when someone else had received what I wanted.  I felt that, no was said to me, the person, not my request.  In my family unit, if I knew the answer would be no to my request, then I just wouldn’t ask. 

As Christians, beliefs and behaviors are changed gradually and most times the Lord has to repeat Himself.  So, you know it took me a minute to accept that answer.  I still hate the answer no, but I am learning that it is not a personal attack on my person.  Throughout scripture, God says no.  He said no to the Israelites and allowed them to be captured and displaced by the Babylonian army.  He said no to David and Bathsheba’s first born.  He even said no to Jesus Christ when He ask, ‘that this cup be taken from Him’ (Luke 22:42).  

Tasha Layton says in her song by the same name, Thank You for the No.  Ahh yes, Lord, I too say thank You for all the times You said no in my life.  Our God certainly isn’t a yes God’.  He isn’t a genie. We can’t just pull a string for the Lord to give us everything we want.  Fortunately for us, life doesn’t work like that.  Even as parents we must tell our kids no several time in their lifetime.  The repercussions of the affirmative when no would have sufficed is usually not only detrimental to the kids, but also to the rest of the family.  

No is a good answer, when God says it. It strengthens us and grows us in our walk with Him.  Believe me, it also draws us closer to Him.  A no answer tells us to trust the God of the universe.   It helps us to endure, it helps us to wait.  No tells us there should be another way or perhaps this is not the way.  No protects and guides us.  The Lord leads us with no and at times He saves our very lives when He says no.  

It stops us in our tracks. It reminds us to look up and keep our eyes on the Savior.  No always says best not better is on the way, because God always gives His best to us.  No usually brings disappointment and at times discouragement, but only for a while because when we remember to go back to what we know to be true, we then know to say, “thy will be done”.  No keeps us grounded in the Word of God and provides us with ample opportunities to stay in communication with Him.  We need all the ‘no’s’ we can get, because He is God, and we are not, He is right and we wrong, He is Holy and we are sinners saved by His grace.  

No is a good word.  We should learn to use it sometimes. Perhaps then we may be less exhausted. It takes courage and boldness to say no and we have these attributes as Christians.  We just have to develop them. 

No is a good word.  It is good for us, it is good for those who try to limit us and place us in boxes, in which we do not belong, it is good for our kids.  Let us be thankful for the no.  

Are you thankful for the no?

By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

Check me out on Instagram. Let’s continue the conversation over on Instagram. Follow my Instagram and I will follow back, just let me know in the comment section. I would love to meet you 🙂

←
→

45 responses to “THANK YOU FOR THE ‘NO’”

  3. It took me a very long time to learn to say NO and it’s still not a word I perhaps use enough, because I always felt the need to qualify my “refusal” with reasons and excuses…(which could then be argued with!) But I once heard a statement that helped me to remember and to be brave; it was “NO is a complete sentence!” That has helped me enormously.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Amen! No is rough to hear at times, especially with God. But my experience has been that sometimes what I hear as no is actually a “not yet.” God opens doors only when he knows you’re ready for what’s next. I hate waiting but it’s in the waiting that I grow and become worthy of the destination ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Man, I wish we would get three feet of snow where I live! Snow is the best thing about winter and we get so little of it.
    You have explained God’s “No” so well here. There are a few times I wish I had not been so stubborn and actually listened instead of doggedly dragging on. Thank God for His mercy and that His love never changes.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. I sold those encyclopedias back in the day as well as being a door to door vacuum salesman 😮 And like you I always took the no as meaning I wasn’t doing something right. It wasn’t until I became a manager in retail that I realized it wasn’t me it was the product they didn’t want. Then I changed my tactics😊 and boom 🏆

    And we have to do that with God as well. Honestly most of our prayers to God are selfish in nature. And He may want the same thing for us BUT our timing is not His…for real. Some no’s become yes’s later as we take our focus off of what we prayed for and concentrate on Him.

    Great post Brenda!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • That job was certainly not for me, especially at that time 😂😂😂 thankfully the Lord called me to teach, much better for my self esteem. The Lord does give us exactly what we need. You are so right, our prayers are primarily selfish in nature, we need the Lord to sift through our prayers and give us what is best for us. God bless you

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  14. Our weather this month has given us a quite a variety. We’ve had the heater and the a/c on. We’ve had both cold/windy and warm/windy days. Cloudy days? – you name it, we’ve had it. We even got some “snow” one day. We, here in South Texas, can only say “snow” because it was more than we usually get, which is none. Some would argue we can’t claim it snowed, because it melted as soon as it hit the ground. The “snow” that hit the roofs immediately turned to really tiny ice pellets and then melted when they rolled off and hit the ground. So compared to so many other places, it was nothing. But for us, it was out of the ordinary and gave us something to talk about. We enjoyed watching them float down through the air.

    That makes me laugh now, thinking about how big a deal it was to us. About ten years ago we got some “snow”. It was enough for us to make a nine inch snow man. Each snow ball was about three inches in diameter. The ground did look white if you looked out of your window, but it probably wasn’t even 1/4 inch deep. It was exciting for the kids and something to give them a lasting memory. Pretty silly compared to other places that have to measure snow in feet. We take what we can get, right? LOL

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. So true!! It is good for us to tell our children know, as a child and teenager growing up I wasn’t told no and made some pretty rough choices….I’m soooo thankful for a strong faith (now) so I can bring my kiddos up in the way of the Lord with boundaries and “no’s” in place!!
    Good post Brenda!❤️

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  18. Like you, I have taken the “no” on a learning curve(s). I love how you present all the benefits of God’s ‘no.’ We need to see and digest these truths so we can be refined more and more into God’s image. You gave us a good lesson.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  21. Hi, Brenda! Cool blog today and amazing youtube vid of Thank You For The No. One of the biggest challenges to bearing witness for Jesus is people say, “Well, He didn’t answer my prayer. Why should I trust Him?” This dovetails into the problem of pain, but that’ll be for another blog I suspect. 😉
    Cloudy and cool in Kentucky, too, but nothing like you get in upstate NY. Soooo jealous of the snow that you get.
    As for clouds, if you ever want to do an interesting simple study, try drawing the timelines for all the people in Genesis up through Isaac. VERY interestingly, the ages of people significantly decrease little by little after the flood, until by Abraham’s time 100 years was considered old. I suspect it had to do with a cloud canopy that covered the earth (Genesis 2:5-6 and Genesis 7) and the “fountains of the great deep” and the “heavens were opened” refer to water (most likely in icy form) falling out of space and breaking up that canopy as it turned to rain. So maybe if we did not have direct sunlight we would live several hundred years? Just a fun thought. 😉

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  22. I needed this word today. It’s so easy to take a “no” personally, when that is so rarely the case. I’m with you, thanking God for the “no”.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.