We are conditioned from a young age to believe our wishes not only will be fulfilled, but that they should be fulfilled. Sit on Santa's lap, rub Aladdin's lamp or put a tooth under your pillow and the answer you[re looking for is realized.

That, of course, is fiction.

God, of course, is not fiction. Which means, we should not expect fictional answers, but real ones. And sometimes in our real-life world, He refrains from giving us the answer we want. Sometimes, He tells us, "No."

It takes as much faith to accept His "no" as it does to press for His "yes." But if He told Moses no, and He told Paul no and even His only begotten Son no, we should hardly be surprised when God gives us a no answer.

Andy Stanley explains further, talking to us briefly about how to "Take No for an Answer."

"Take No for an Answer" by Andy Stanley

PRAY

Father, we praise You because sometimes Your purposes are too wonderful for us to understand. And yet, you let us be a part of bringing them to pass. In fact, Lord, there's nothing You do without allowing us to do it with You, that people will see that the things we do couldn't possibly be done without You. You place Your treasures in jars of clay for Your glory and we exalt You for Your goodness. In Jesus' Name ...

REFLECT

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. — 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

RESPOND

There's weakness that allows God's strength to shine through and there are weaknesses that God protects us from because they don't. The ways that God delivers us from evil -- not just sin, but things that mean us harm -- are many and Greg Laurie will conclude our series by examining a few of them.