When God says "No!"

Last Monday morning, my phone began to ring off the hook. I was in the process of planning a barbeque and carnival for 500 people. Many of my volunteers, such as; the band, the train owner, the bounce house owner, etc. were calling to ask if we should cancel the event. They had watched the weather report and we had a 70% chance of snow for the day of our event. My answer to each one was; "I don't even want to talk about this until we all ask the Lord to change the weather!"

So, ask I did! I spent every moment I had asking the Lord for this miracle. Why did I ask Him? Because He can change the weather. Because He was my only hope in changing the weather. Because I wanted a sunny day! I am sure most of us are familiar with the story in Matthew 8 where Jesus calms the storm on the lake when the disciples think they are going to perish. Verse 27 says; "The men were amazed and asked, 'What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!'" This is the God that I know today! He has changed the weather before in my life. In fact, there was a 70% chance of rain on my daughter's wedding day this summer and we did not see a drop!!! I have asked for practically everything from God and have seen so many amazing miracles!! So, I kept asking the One who could help me!

There is something exciting to me about waiting on God in a circumstance that is impossible without Him. This week, I often thought of the movie; "Braveheart." In one scene, the main character, William Wallace, is leading an army into battle. The opposing army is charging at their line and he is yelling; "Hold, hold, hold!!" The men are looking at him anxiously but with trust and respect waiting for his signal. This was how I felt! I was holding and waiting on my leader, Jesus, to give me my orders. When I was sure about the snow, then I would act based on the answer that God was giving me. Until then, I would believe in God's ability knowing who He is and trusting His judgement as to the outcome of the day. This is the kind of excitement I feel when I am waiting in prayer on the Lord.

On the early morning of our event, I woke up at 3:23am. I got up and looked outside and there was no snow. I thought God was going to answer my prayer for a sunny day! But, just as my hopes were high, I saw the snow begin to fall. And it was falling hard!! At this moment, I had two choices: I could act like a three year old and ask the notorious question; "WHY?" or I could trust God with His answer which I knew at this point was; "No!" I chose to trust God to make this event a success in spite of the snow.

We served over 325 people that day. We treated many kids to carnival events, such as; face painting, fishing for toys, etc. We gave away prizes! I can say for sure that we lavished the love of Jesus on all that came!! We had the best indoor carnival and barbeque possible and our cooks stood out in the snow grilling the chicken and tri-tip for 5 hours. It was not what I imagined, but it was fun!! And all of the volunteers showed up with great attitudes!! We were in it together and we had a victory!!

I don't know why the Lord did not change the weather on this day. But, I do know that He could have!! I ask God all the time for things that only He can do. I believe that it blesses Him when we have faith in who He is and we know that He can do anything we ask of Him. I also believe that it blesses Him when we can take; "No!" for an answer. How do we do this graciously? We remember that He is God and we are not. And we receive His; "No!" as the BEST answer even when we don't understand. After all, His perspective is so much greater than our own!! So, we trust Him!!

Hebrews 11:6; "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."