“NIKKI, I’M GOING TO PRAY FOR GOD TO REMOVE THIS FROM YOU”
That was from my new friend, Kathy, the other day when I explained to her the significance of the “311” that showed up in her car. That God wants me to be still and allow Him to fight my battles for me while I stay on the highest road with Him. She said I can call into a prayer line, and they will also pray for this issue to be removed from me. I explained to her that God had already told me no and that He would not remove it and His grace was sufficient for me. That this was my cross to carry for Him and that I should lovingly and joyfully take this cross on His behalf, shining bright all for His glory. And I say, ‘God, no problem! I got You!’
Fast forward to the very next morning, can you believe God confirmed what I said. I was looking at the alarms that I had already set up on my phone. The one for 7:00 am got my attention, and I decided to read page 70 of our family’s website to see what God had to say to me. Look what incredibly showed up, just hours after my discussion with Kathy:
“GOD DOESN’T ALWAYS GIVE US WHAT WE ASK FOR!
That’s the message I’m learning, and CONFIRMED by T.D. Jakes last night. It was a sermon picked by YouTube’s Autoplay, but picked by God specifically for me, entitled, ‘Trusting God When He Says NO.’ Pastor Jakes particularly got my attention when he talked about having days when he didn’t want to get out of bed when I recently entitled one of my videos, ‘I Didn’t Want To Get Out of Bed.’ LOL! So, I definitely related, and I PAID ATTENTION.
It was incredibly a sermon from five years ago but spoke directly to my life TODAY. Like in me praying (begging!!!) God to take an extremely HARD issue away from me, and He has repeatedly said, ‘Nope, Nik, I’m not!’ It’s an issue that gets me so angry and upset that God seems to bring directly to my face to deal with constantly. I say, ‘God, I did not need to know this!!!’ Pastor Jakes even brought two of my fav people in from the Bible, Jesus and the Apostle Paul, and how God told them “no” as well.
Let me tell you, I even have a picture of Jesus in my bathroom, y’all, carrying his cross because it’s my constant reminder that God has asked me to carry my cross – this very issue that keeps me so crazy, sad and depressed where I keep asking, ‘God, what is wrong with me?!?’ Even though I’ve asked God to take it away MANY times, He doesn’t, and I eventually just repeat what Jesus said, “Your will not mine be done.” Then, the Apostle Paul asked three times for a thorn to be removed from his side, but God told him “no” and said His grace was sufficient that when we are weak, His strength will come through for us.
Right after listening to the sermon, I go to have an appointment with God reading my meditation book, He and I, and can you believe God confirmed that it was a sermon picked by Him for me? As I continued reading from where I had last left off, these words showed up, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Then as I continued reading some more, Jesus’ words also miraculously appeared: “My Father—‘Your will not Mine be done.’ That was a double God wink after both of these quotes had just shown up in Pastor Jakes’ sermon.
Do you guys like how God sweetly told me, ‘NO?’ Nik, I’m not giving you what you’ve been praying for, but I do promise that My Presence will always be here to help you deal with this situation, and my grace is sufficient for you – when you are weak, I will be your strength. And by the way, as you deal with this FRUSTRATING issue, I want you teaching others about all the hard lessons you’re learning from having to deal with it too. My response, the same as Jesus’: “My Father—‘Your will not Mine be done.’
As for those difficult lessons, Apostle Paul summed them up perfectly:
“But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.” – Galatians 5:22-23
And if God wants me to carry this cross, I will do so joyfully, lovingly, and patiently. God, anything for You! Thanks for taking such excellent care of my family and me. Everything is between You and me, not between me and anyone else.”
Last night, I had the pleasure of dropping off my sons and their friend, Sammy, at Calvary Church. I stayed in my car for a little bit telling God that I will follow Jesus who carried His cross to Calvary, asking for His will to be done in my life, not my will. Amen.
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