Tag: diligence

The Power of “No”

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No one likes to hear a “no.”  “No” means you’ve been denied something, put on restrictions, cannot receive what you wanted. We dread hearing “no” from our friends, family, potential opportunities, even our lovers. We especially hate hearing a “no” from God.

We’ve been so conditioned to believe that being told “no” means we’ve reached end of our quest for what we sought after, that many times we stop seeking all together OR take a totally different approach in a different direction that we never wanted to go in in the first place.

I’d like to challenge our thinking for a bit.

What if every time you were told “no”, you knew that the next answer would be the “perfect yes”? How many “no’s” would you endure to reach that perfect “yes”?

Diligence:

n. [L., to love earnestly; to choose.]

1. Steady application in business of any kind; constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken; exertion of body or mind without unnecessary delay or sloth; due attention; industry; assiduity.

In order to get to our ultimate goal, there will be doors closed in our face. Too many times we think hearing a “no” means we have failed when in actuality, it gets us a step closer to the perfect “yes”.

When you’re striving for God’s perfect plan for your life, He will give you a “no”. While He loves us and even His Word says that anything we ask for, He’ll give us, He must give us a “no”. 

Why?

Because every “no” from Him gets us a step closer to what we really want. What we think we want, in actuality, we don’t want. And if you ever get a “yes”, you soon realize that what you initially wanted doesn’t even compare to what you received.
 

There is power in the word “no”. It liberates us, gives us the power to know that the next job we apply for, relationship we try, business plan we write, school we seek admission to will get us closer to His perfect will.

I have a good friend who was given her dream job! She was excited and, after not working for several months, felt like her prayers had been answered. A week later, she was let go. No real explanation other than they needed to keep the position “open.” Devastated, she took a couple of days to regroup, packed her “no” in her satchel bag, and kept pounding the pavement.

A week later, she was called to interview for another job that paid more money, required less hours, and had more perks.

Had she never gotten a “no”, she would have never gotten to the perfect “yes”.

What “no’s” have you gotten lately? I challenge you to take them, pack ’em up, and get excited. Your perfect “yes” is on the way!

On the Chase,

Alisha L.