When God Says No

Recently, I sought the Lord about a particular item I wanted. My prayer went something like this: Lord, I would like to have [this thing] and I have the means to go get it, but I don't know if you want it for me or not. So, would you please give me [this thing] or let me know you don't want me to have it right now. Amen. So...after seeking the counsel of the Lord I promptly went about the necessary avenues through which to secure this thing that I wanted. Everywhere I went I found a dead end. No less than six people, unsolicited mind you and at different times, shared with me why they didn't think I needed this particular thing. Many other things happened to indicate that this was not something I needed to pursue.

So what did I do? Well, the better question would be what am I going to do? I know that God doesn't want me to do this thing that I want to do. I have the means to do it, though. I have to believe that God has my best interest in mind and that he has plans to bless and give me a future and all of that, but I still want the thing. So I find myself in a struggle. Herein is the point to today's story. God's desire for me is better for me than my desire for me. I still want the thing. The choice is to obey God or disobey God. Mind you, there is no verse anywhere in the Bible that says I can't or shouldn't have the thing, but there are countless verses that deal with obedience and the resulting blessing and disobedience and the resulting discipline.

I have a choice in my salvation to walk with the Lord or to walk away from the Lord....to listen to the Lord or not listen to the Lord....to wait and deny myself or go ahead and satisfy my desire....to please the Lord or disappoint the Lord...etc... Such is the life of a saved person. To learn to walk by faith and not by sight and trust the Lord for my delight. How do you handle a no answer from God?