Your Divine destiny is right on track!
We all love it when God says yes. Yes to healing. Yes to breakthrough. Yes to that job, that relationship, that open door we’ve been praying for. Yes. Yes. Yes. We love that answer to prayer, don’t we?!
But what about when He says no? What do you do when the thing you fasted over, wept over, and waited for doesn’t happen? When the door stays shut, when the sickness lingers, when the prayer seemingly goes unanswered? That’s where many of us struggle because a “no” from God can feel like rejection. Like abandonment. Like silence. But it’s not. God’s “no” doesn’t mean He’s angry with you. It doesn’t mean He’s forgotten you. It means He’s God. And He sees what you can’t. His answers—whether yes, no, or wait—are always shaped by His perfect wisdom, His deep love, and His eternal perspective. That doesn’t make it easy. But it does make it trustworthy.
If you’ve followed Jesus for any length of time, you’ve experienced this. You’ve prayed with everything you had—maybe for a loved one’s healing, maybe for a child to come home, maybe for your marriage to survive—and still, God said no.
That’s real pain. And it raises real questions. Why would God say no to something so good? So godly? You don’t need a cliché answer. And you don’t need someone brushing past your grief with a polished Bible verse. You need truth. You need the heart of God.
Here’s what I have learned through the years:
Sometimes God says no because our request is not good for us.
Sometimes He says no to protect us from what we can’t see.
Sometimes He says no to prepare us for what’s coming.
And sometimes He says no because His ways really are higher than ours.
But hear this: “No” doesn’t mean God isn’t working.
You’ll remember in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us about a “thorn in the flesh.” We’re not sure what it was, but we know it was painful. We also know he pleaded with God to take it away—three times. This is Paul we’re talking about. The same man who raised the dead. The same man who preached with power and saw miracles through handkerchiefs. He asked… and God said no. But God didn’t leave him there. Instead, He said:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
—2 Corinthians 12:9
God didn’t give Paul what he wanted. He gave him what he needed: grace. That’s the heart of our Father. He gives us what we would ask for if we could see what He sees. And when He says no, it’s not because He’s withholding something good. It’s because He’s working on something deeper.
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed:
“Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me…”
—Matthew 26:39
He knew what was ahead. The cross. The suffering. The weight of the world’s sin. And He asked for another way. But the Father didn’t remove the cup. Because love required it. Your redemption required it.
And Jesus, fully surrendered, said:
“Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
He didn’t get relief in that moment. But He showed us the path forward—surrender in the face of sorrow. Trust in the middle of the unknown. Jesus knows what it feels like to be told no. And He invites you to follow Him into that kind of trust, not because it’s easy, but because it’s worth it.
God is not punishing you when He says no. He’s doing something deeper.
He may be building your endurance.
He may be drawing you closer to Him.
He may be positioning your life for something you can’t yet imagine.
Whatever the reason, you are not alone in the waiting. You are not forgotten in the silence. And you are not unloved in the “no.”
He’s still your Shepherd.
Still your Father.
Still good.
So today, if you’re facing a no—if the healing hasn’t come, if the door hasn’t opened, if the prayer hasn’t been answered the way you hoped—don’t walk away.
Lean in.
He’s still writing your story. And He’s still working all things together for good… even this.
