Guest Writer: Tabitha Holcomb
What do you do when God says no? It can be the hardest moment in your life and the only thing that makes sense is to just run. Run from life. Run from the pain. Run from everything you know. You may even want to run from God. After all, how could a good God say “No” to what you have been praying for so many years? How could He say no to the new job you greatly need for financial peace? How could He say no to that relationship you believed was the one you were meant to have forever? How could He say no to healing your loved one from cancer?
In 2020, my sweet mother was diagnosed with cancer. Everyone in our life believed she would be healed. She believed she would be healed. We prayed for an earthly healing and His answer was “No.” That was the hardest no of my life. I felt like we did everything we are called to do and His answer was still no.
What do you do when His answer is no? Romans 8:28 that is often used is a verse that honestly I usually pass over because the bad things that life can bring can make me doubt the beautiful truth in this verse. It says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This verse doesn’t say that He will work only though the good things life may bring. It promises us that in ALL things He will work it all together for our good. That includes circumstances that surround a “no” answer from the Lord.
Maybe, just maybe, that “no” to the job you think you need, is because there is a job so much better for you—one that will bring peace to your life, not just financially, but also physically and mentally as well. Maybe that “no” to the relationship that you thought you needed, is because God is protecting you from future pain greater than the “no” you are currently experiencing.
I wish I could say there was a better understanding of why God answered no to an earthly healing for my mom. What I can share is that God has worked in so many situations since my mom’s death that have been beautiful. I just had to get out of the way and open my eyes. Through all of life’s struggles and the no answers to your prayers, two truths remain: God is good and He is good at being God.
Isaiah 55:9 says that “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Even when His answer is no, He sees the whole picture, He loves you and He will never leave you. We must just continue to trust.
Job lost everything he owned and every relationship that was precious to him in a single day. He summed up his plight by saying, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” -Job 1:21 NLT
“Trust God no matter what” is a scary statement until you realize that He is all that is truly stable in our lives. When that realization comes, we know that He is all we need—even when He says, “No.”
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