It’s a fact of life that ‘no’ is often the word we like least! One of the shortest words in the English language, it’s nevertheless a word we associate with negativity and the crushing of our plans. My youngest granddaughter, aged 19 months, puckers up and sobs in frustration the minute she hears the word. You would think we had refused her every opportunity for happiness simply by uttering the word, rather than saved her from danger!

In 2 Samuel 7, we see how David responds when God says ‘no’ to his plans to build God a temple. At first sight, his request seems laudable, a great idea, but God reminds him that He has no need of grandiose dwellings (see 2 Sam 7:5-7) and has far bigger plans for David than David could ever have for him. (2 Sam 7:8-16) David ultimately is humbled by God’s great plans and learns to respect His wisdom. His ways and thoughts, after all, are so much greater than ours. (Is 55:8-11)

It’s hard when God says ‘no’ to us. We find it bewildering and confusing, especially when our ideas want to glorify Him. Bob Deffinbaugh reminds us, ‘No matter how pious my plans for God and His work appear to be, they fall far short of the purity of thought and motive God requires. In the final analysis, there is nothing we can do for God in our own strength. It is God who must accomplish great things through us, and very often in spite of us.’

This chapter reminds us that God’s ‘nos’, painful though they are, may be necessary, but always lead to a better ‘yes.’ (2 Cor 1:20) May we learn, like David, to humbly accept whatever God tells us and to wait patiently before the Lord.