Daily Devotion February 15-When God Says No

February 15

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The life of Paul is one of the more interesting reads in the New Testament.  Paul had a unique relationship with Jesus and was made aware of many things that others were not.  To keep Paul from becoming overly prideful, God gave him what Paul referred to as a thorn in the flesh.  Paul fought with this and says that 3 times he begged God to take it away from him.  But God promised him that He was sufficient to meet his needs.

Sometimes we don't understand why God tells us "no" when we ask Him for something.  But He always has good reasons for saying no because He knows what is best for us.

One reason God may say no is for our own protection.  Maybe we, like Paul, need to be kept humble. Maybe God is protecting us from something that we don't understand.  Remember He sees the big picture and we only see the pieces.

Maybe God has something much bigger in store for us.  If Jesus had healed Lazarus when He was first told of his illness, it would not have had the same effect as raising him from the dead did.

As much as we hate to admit this, maybe God says no because our motives are wrong.  Maybe we are asking for things knowing they are selfish and God recognizes that selfishness.  There are many times when we aren't thinking of what is best for the kingdom of God but what is best for us.  God has to watch out for us because we don't always make the best choices.

As we go through the day, let us always remember that when God says NO it is because He knows best.