First of all, I want to be honest with you...maybe you are this way too, but I usually try to REQUIRE that God tell me either "yes" or "no". Do you know what I mean? I don't want "wait" to be the answer so I try to force God into a mold of my own timing. If you don't give God the option of "wait" then you are basically say, "Tell me 'yes' now or it has to be 'no.'" How lame is that? Well it is not only lame but it is ridiculous and it only hurts me. So, hopefully you don't do that or, if you do, you are going to try to stop. Don't limit God. He know way better than you do what is best for you.
OK. So, my theory has been for a while that I prefer "no" to "yes" because it is clearer. Example: if God is saying yes, that could be "here are four choices and I will bless you in whichever you choose" (so I still have decisions to make) or "here are several choices and as you pursue them I will then close doors to help make it clearer for you what I want you to do" (well that's obviously work).
Whereas a closed door is simply a closed door. I move on. I can stop pursing that thing, I can stop wondering if it might be something I should do and I can just move forward without all the "work" of having to figure out what God wants me to do.
For those of you who are older and wiser and smiling right now, stop laughing. It isn't funny when you are young!!! :o)
What I'm realizing is that this is all well and good...as long as you don't have any vested interest in the thing that you are asking God about. If you could care less one way or the other, then a closed door is awesome. However, if have a passion for something (God given or not) then it becomes harder to be told no. That is where "wait" because a beautiful thing. See, "wait" can mean so many things. Maybe God is saying "I'll let you do the exact thing you are asking for, but after you've gone through XYZ so that you & your family are better prepared for it." Or, God could be saying, "I'm going to redirect you and save you a lot of wasted time by helping to shape your passion in this direction instead of the one that you are heading in now."
God has this awesome advantage of being...well, God. He knows everything, He is outside of time, and yet He cares enough about my life to want me to love, adore, and serve Him. He gets the glory when He gives me the ability to do the things that I want. If I have to wait for something and then I watch God work and shape me and my family in the waiting, then I get to say, "to God be the glory, great things He has done in our lives" as compared to "Look at the idea I had that God gave me the OK to do."
While "yes" is fantastic, and "no" is clear but not always what we are looking for, the true growing comes in the "wait" answers. Patience, perseverance, trust, faith in God, peace with where God has you: the list could go on and on. The benefits are huge. So, the next time you don't have a closed door, but you don't sense God saying "yes" but praise God that He might be telling you to "wait" so that you can be who He wants you to be when that "wait" becomes an "OK, now is the time."
OK. So, my theory has been for a while that I prefer "no" to "yes" because it is clearer. Example: if God is saying yes, that could be "here are four choices and I will bless you in whichever you choose" (so I still have decisions to make) or "here are several choices and as you pursue them I will then close doors to help make it clearer for you what I want you to do" (well that's obviously work).
Whereas a closed door is simply a closed door. I move on. I can stop pursing that thing, I can stop wondering if it might be something I should do and I can just move forward without all the "work" of having to figure out what God wants me to do.
For those of you who are older and wiser and smiling right now, stop laughing. It isn't funny when you are young!!! :o)
What I'm realizing is that this is all well and good...as long as you don't have any vested interest in the thing that you are asking God about. If you could care less one way or the other, then a closed door is awesome. However, if have a passion for something (God given or not) then it becomes harder to be told no. That is where "wait" because a beautiful thing. See, "wait" can mean so many things. Maybe God is saying "I'll let you do the exact thing you are asking for, but after you've gone through XYZ so that you & your family are better prepared for it." Or, God could be saying, "I'm going to redirect you and save you a lot of wasted time by helping to shape your passion in this direction instead of the one that you are heading in now."
God has this awesome advantage of being...well, God. He knows everything, He is outside of time, and yet He cares enough about my life to want me to love, adore, and serve Him. He gets the glory when He gives me the ability to do the things that I want. If I have to wait for something and then I watch God work and shape me and my family in the waiting, then I get to say, "to God be the glory, great things He has done in our lives" as compared to "Look at the idea I had that God gave me the OK to do."
While "yes" is fantastic, and "no" is clear but not always what we are looking for, the true growing comes in the "wait" answers. Patience, perseverance, trust, faith in God, peace with where God has you: the list could go on and on. The benefits are huge. So, the next time you don't have a closed door, but you don't sense God saying "yes" but praise God that He might be telling you to "wait" so that you can be who He wants you to be when that "wait" becomes an "OK, now is the time."
