When God Says No
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 5:14
Sometimes, we beg God for something, but He chooses to say no. Then years later, we realize He had something much better in mind.
12 years ago, I was living in a remote place and desperately lonely. While I loved my job in journalism, I didn’t make a lot of money. I wanted so badly to move across the state to be closer to my family, but the only job options were in education advocacy. I’d taught college for several years, so was confident I’d get hired. I prayed then began my job hunt. My resume was strong, and my cover letter was warm, self-assured, and direct.
I felt certain numerous opportunities would follow.
God had other plans; I wasn’t called for a single interview. I was devastated.
A couple years later, God led me to another state where I didn’t know anyone. And as He’d planned, every door possible opened with a new job, a position I still hold today with a long-standing, highly respected, and award-winning Christian newspaper.
Not getting the job I thought I wanted ultimately led to the one I needed. God answered my prayer, only it took me a few years to see and understand the big picture.
Sometimes when we don’t get a clear answer or doors close, it feels as if God is ignoring us. It hurts! Sometimes we question whether God heard us, or whether He even loves us or cares about our current difficult situation.
But the Bible promises God our Father listens to His children and answers our prayers.
He knows what’s best for us. And He does respond to our prayers. It just might take understanding that we need to align ourselves with God’s plan for our lives to be in ministry with Him—and be willing to go where He calls.
Jessica Brodie is an award-winning journalist and a member of the Wholly Loved Ministryteam. She’s also an author who currently serves as the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism. She is the author of More Like Jesus: A Devotional Journey (2018) and editor of Stories of Racial Awakening: Narratives on Changed Hearts and Lives of South Carolina United Methodists (2018), both from her newspaper’s Advocate Press. She also writes contemporary women’s fiction, represented by Bob Hostetler of The Steve Laube Agency. Her novel The Memory Garden won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ 2018 Genesis Contest. She has a faith blog at JessicaBrodie.com.
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