When Jesus says...'no'?

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You know that song that goes ‘when Jesus says yes nobody can say no’? Have you ever thought of it the other way around? That when Jesus says no nobody can say yes? I doubt it because as Job implies, we are more accepting when God gives us the good we expect than we are of the trouble we pray away. If I’m going to walk with God and walk well, I must accept that, like any parent, sometimes He will say no. I also need to accept that his ‘no’ bares the same power and authority that his ‘yes’ does. That no matter how much I try to go against it, and how much backing I have from people, His ‘no’ will overrule everything and everyone.

I studied the subject of discipline a few days ago and was reminded of a few things that I realized I had left along the way (causing much frustration in my spiritual walk).
“My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” Proverbs 3:11-12
The attitude of the one being disciplined is key. For discipline is to be effective, it must be viewed correctly by the one receiving it. Of course this is near impossible if you are saying no to a tantrum-throwing toddler but hey, it must be done, otherwise they are left to hate discipline which is what this text warns against. It is easy to hate discipline because it hurts but when disciplined, I need to look beyond the unpleasantness of the time and consider the harvest it will produce later on (Hebrews 12:11). Once I’ve done this I will not resist discipline but endure it.

A few things we need to understand about God’s discipline for it to produce a plentiful harvest in our lives:
Discipline is rooted in love
God disciplines those he loves because the love he loves us with does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth (1 Corinthians 13:6). God knows all evil leads to death and he loves us too much to allow us to gallop down the road to death, even if, in our blindness, we claim that’s what we want. Like a parent who knows the cavities that too much sugar can cause, the damage to both brain and eyes if screen time is not restricted, God will also at times not consider what we want no matter how much we want it because he knows the harm it poses. He would rather watch us sulk in disappointment for a while than watch us suffer for the rest of our lives.
The one being disciplined therefore needs to trust the Father. Trust that he knows best, that he has your best interests at heart, that his love could never lead you astray.

Discipline affirms sonship
Every time I got a good hiding from my dad I was left convinced I was adopted. He could not possibly be my dad if he managed to do that. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was exactly because he was my real father that he did that. Discipline speaks of acceptances rather than rejection. Because you accepted as a son, all that is unwanted in you is pruned away so that you are a true reflection of your Father. The verse goes to a further length to say it is the son that God delights in that he disciplines. So hardships don’t come our way because God is mad at us, but simply because he wants to train us through discipline to do better.

Discipline affirms my legitimacy as His child (Hebrews 12:8). This means I should be concerned if things are always as I’d have them, if God never denies me of anything, if he never says I’m wrong, if he never tells me to wait, to be still, to go back, to apologise, to let go.
I’m also a true son when I don’t run for the hills because I was rebuked, when I don’t deny my faith because of hardships that I face; when I accept what God wants over what I want because I know its best. Remember Jesus at Gethsemane. He did not hide what he wanted to happen, that he not suffer and die the death that awaited him; but he was a son enough to be accepting of what God wanted. What he went through truly was terrible, but, oh my, the harvest it produced!

We need to accept that God will say no, that it won’t be nice when he does, but that our lives will be better because he did.

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:2


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