When Jesus Says "No"

When Jesus says "no." We read about all the healings in Scripture, but what about the folks He didn't? What about the people who, after being healed wanted to go with Him as His disciples, and He told them "no."

It hurts when Jesus says "no." It feels like a betrayal from the one that you love the most, and He doesn't explain why. Sometimes, we carry a bitterness and a resentment for not being healed, for not receiving what we asked for, for not being allowed to follow in the way we wanted to.

It had nothing to do with our faith. We wouldn't have gone to Him if we didn't believe He could do it. And there's no explanation from Him as to why.

If I have come to learn anything from my experiences with Him over my entire existence, it's that there's a reason for Him saying "no." What we ask for may hurt us in the long run in ways we can't possibly foresee, even if it's a perfectly good and worthy thing. What happens to us, what we know and when, doesn't just affect us, but all those around us. He doesn't explain, because if He did, He would change the outcome by our knowing.

Our expectation or observation of a thing or an event changes the thing or event. This is an understanding from Quantum Mechanics. In His divinity, Jesus knows and understands this concept very, very well. The interactions between people ripple through not just one person or two, but eventually everyone on the planet, changing and shaping outcomes by thoughts, feelings, and words for billions of people. When Jesus says "no" to an otherwise perfectly valid request, it's not just about you even as it is also about what's best for you at that point in time, or any point in time.

What you ask for in your youth, He may say "no" to, only to grant it in your old age because the timing and people are right for it to happen. What ministry or position you ask for, He may say "no" to because you are right where you need to be, and you still can't see how He's working through you to those around you. There are so many variables which we simply can't process as human beings, that He is fully aware of.

He doesn't say "no" to hurt you, and He is keenly aware when it does. He says "no" because granting it in that moment would cause more hurt and harm to you and those around you than you realize, even if it would be appropriate at another point in time and space.

He says "no" because He loves you, and those around you, and those around them. It doesn't feel like love when He says "no," but it never does when a young child hears that from their parent. "Dad, can I drive the car?" Asks the six year old child. "No." Says the Dad who's seeing images of a dead son and a mangled car. "Mom, can I go to this party?" Asks the tween daughter about a high school party. "No." Says the mother, who's well aware of what can happen. Jesus says "no" for much the same reasons, with an omniscience of time and space which tells Him when the best time for granting such a request would be, if at all.

"No" hurts to hear, but it's the best thing He can say to you if He says it.