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God honors our "no." It proves how much he respects us.

Ruth Senter

Not long ago I had someone say "no" to me. It was a firm, flat-out "no." And for no good reason, or so it seemed. In the grand scheme of things, it was not a big deal—simply a story I wanted to use. But the person said "no," and I was left with a choice.

My natural instinct was to fret and fuss, to say "how picky," "how trivial," and to use the story anyhow. It was not a moral issue. There were no legalities involved. In fact, the story held the person in the highest regard. I had every right to use that story.

But thankfully, I thought twice.

What do I want others to do with my "no?"

I thought a lot about that. And I decided what I did not want was for them to try to manipulate me into saying "Oh well, go ahead even though I do not feel comfortable about it." Should that happen, I would feel like a very small person being batted around by a giant.

It is not the way God deals with us.

God honors our "no." As much as it breaks his heart to hear us say it, he knows any other way would be coercion. So he hears our "no" and quietly gets on with the business of bestowing his love on those who will let him. Thank goodness he does it that way. It proves how much he respects us.

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve … " (Josh. 24:15), Joshua said to the people of Israel before explaining what he was going to do. Everyone was given a choice.

Joshua was taking a huge risk. The people could make choices that would complicate life. The people did make choices that complicated life.

God took the same risk, and the same thing happened.

If God decided it was worth the risk, how much more should I.

Ruth Senter has written ten books, has two grown kids, and travels with her husband, a seminary educator.

Copyright © 1997 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
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