"GOD'S NO!

       . . . Having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in

        the province of asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they 

        tried to enter Bithynia, but the Sprit of Jesus would not allow them to.

                                                   (ACT 16 : 6,7)

Mark Twain once said, "Most people are bothered by those passages in Scripture which they cannot understand; but I always noticed that the passages which troubled me most are those which I do understand." We all get his point, but the fact remains that the ways of God can be a little hard to understand sometimes. Our text for today gives us good example of that.

         Paul had been called by God to preach the gospel to the Gentile. But when he wanted to minister to the people in Asia, God said No." When he wanted to enter Bithynia, God  Said, "No." It just didn't make any sense to Paul. It must have been a very frustrating experience.

         But life is often times that God warned us about this too when he said through the prophet Isaiah, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways."

         There is only One who is omniscient, and that is God. He operates with a wisdom that is far greater than ours. He never makes mistakes in the ways that he deals with his children. Our text once again serves as a good example if that.

          God had reason for saying No to Paul and not allowing him to enter Asia or Bithynia at this time. There was a more urgent need in Macedonia There was a field white for the harvest that required his immediate attention. Once Paul started working there, he understood full well why God had said No to him earlier.

          Unfortunely it doesn't always work out that way. There are times we cannot understand why God says No to us. Our loved one is stricken with an incurable disease. We pray with all the confidence we can muster that God will perform a miracle and heal that person. But the  answer that comes back to us is No, and we end up shedding our tears at the funeral. 

          That could be a very bitter pill to swallow. It could fill our hearts with all sorts of doubts about love of God for us. But when we think of Jesus Christ nailed to the cross and dying for our sins, how can we possibly doubt his love for us? Blessed with wisdom from above, we will continue to put our trust in God even when we can't understand when he says, "No."