Exceeding Abundantly! Guest Post by Hannah Geist

Good morning, everyone! Today I am delighted to present a guest post from a dear friend of mine, Hannah Geist. I hope her post is an encouragement to you! I know it was a blessing for me. :) 

Exceeding Abundantly

Each one of us have desires of the heart, things we greatly long for and have asked God for. When we bring these requests before the Lord in prayer, how does he answer?  “Yes,” “No,” “Wait?”  And even more importantly, how do we respond to those answers?  It’s easy when the Lord gives us a, “Yes,” and fulfills those desires.  In those times we shout for joy and praise the Lord for His goodness to us, but what about when He says, “Wait,” or even tells us, “No,” and denies our request?  Do we still praise Him for His goodness?  I know I don’t often feel like shouting for joy when God doesn’t immediately give me what I asked for.  This is something I’ve been pondering recently.  

Often, receiving a “no” can be very disappointing and discouraging, and when God tells us to wait we become impatient and begin questioning God.  That is not God’s intention.  I’m beginning to understand that God has a wonderful plan for my life, and even His “No’s” and His “Wait’s” are for my good.  Those “No’s” and “Wait’s” are really so much better than if He had said, “Yes!”  That, to me, is so exciting!

When God says, "Wait"

 I used to get so frustrated when God told me to wait (and still do at times), but recently He has been helping me to see those times as precious.  The times in my life when I am waiting on the Lord for a “Yes” or even a “No” have certainly been some of the most trying times of my life, and yet they have produced the most spiritual growth. Looking back, I see that when He says, “Wait,” it keeps me relying on Him constantly and drawing ever nearer to Him.  Waiting on the Lord has begun to teach me the true meaning of surrender because it helps me understand that God is in control, not I.

When God says, "No"

     Receiving “No” for an answer can be one of the hardest things to go through in life. We often view those times as God withholding a blessing from us, but is that really what it is?  The Lord promises in Psalms 84:11 that He will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly.  That means that God will never say, “No,” to something that is good for me.  If He gives us a “No” it’s because He has something better for us.  We don’t often see it at the time, but looking back over our life we can see the truth of that statement.  

                           

As I begin to understand these truths—the benefit of waiting and the fact that if God says, “No,” it’s because He has a better “Yes” down the road—and see them played out in my life, I get very excited!  I’m not saying that understanding these makes it any easier when we’re faced with the decision of how to respond in times of waiting or after receiving a “No,” but it does change our perspective.  It’s still disappointing to not receive something you desire so greatly, but understanding that those “No’s” and “Wait’s” are for our best help us understand God’s goodness even in those trying times.  Ephesians 4:32 says “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…”  I have found this to be so true in my life, not only in the times that God says, “Yes,” but also in the times when He says, “No,” and “Wait!”

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(Mykaela) I am so thankful for Hannah's insight on this...It's so important to give thanks in everything! (1 Thessolonians 5:18) When that includes a "No" or a "Wait" from God, let's focus on giving thanks and trusting Him to do what's BEST for us! :)