When Yes Feels Like No

On Sunday, David preached a sermon on a section of second Corinthians that contained this verse

"For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him (Jesus). That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory." (2 Corinthians 1:20)

While David preached about how all the promises of God find their Yes in Jesus, he also talked about what it looks like when  the yes we receive from God doesn't always feel like a yes to us. Our family got some opportunity to put this into practice when we found out on Monday that the judge who heard our petition for adoption has been called away to hear cases in Northern Uganda for a month. Apparently all his other cases are "on hold" for now. Later on Monday, we got word that the teacher is definitely not going to be joining us for this school year. David had taken time on Monday to pray specifically about these two things. That certainly seemed like two "no" answers to our prayers.

Going back to Sunday. Since David was preaching I had signed up to lead the Kids' Time. Sometimes that is a brief lesson before the sermon and sometimes it is incorporating the kids into the sermon. This week David and I had come up with a plan for the kids to read some of the promises of God that find their Yes in Jesus about halfway through his sermon. After one child would read a promise, all the children would shout "Amen!" Some of the toddlers even joined in with their "Amen." These are the promises of God that we affirmed at church:

Exodus 14:14 - “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 

Isaiah 40:29 - “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” 

Isaiah 41:10 - “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” 

Deuteronomy 31:8 – “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” 

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

Psalm 86:5 – “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.” 

Isaiah 40:31- “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

 Psalm 84:11 - "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly."

 While these answers to our prayers on Monday felt like a "no" we remember that these promises of God are all Yes in Jesus. God is fighting for us. He will give us His strength and uphold us. He is our God! He goes before us into this coming school year and has plans for our good, to give us hope. Our good Lord is with us and loves us. He will enable me to do whatever He calls me to do this school year. He will give me the strength to wait for this next month and will go before us in our court ruling. And he will give us what is best.

In David's sermon, he referred to John Piper's sermon on this same passage in 2 Corinthians. One of the main points Piper made was that, "God will answer our prayers in the way we ask or in a way that is better than what we asked." I don't see how it is better for us to need to scramble this month to find a new teacher or reshuffle the schedule, but I am going to trust that God has something better for us. I don't understand why waiting another month for the judge's ruling on Evie's adoption is best, but God does. He is good, abounding in love, working for our good. And even though we don't see or understand the "better" plan that God has, we will walk by faith and not by sight. And when our faith is weak, we will pray like the father in Mark 9:24, "I believe; help my unbelief!"