During the initial stages of my Christian walk, one of the major and strict voices that I heard from the LORD was, “learn to say NO to the things that are against the will of God.” This happened during my college degree days and I wasn’t having events or incidents that compelled me to say Yes to the things of this world. Years went by, and I moved to a new place, things were different. It was not just the place, I was fast approaching the age of marriage and was bombarded with proposals, decisions for staying/leaving the church, and choosing a career that could eventually affect my spiritual life due to the lack of availability to have fellowship with the Christian community and all the turns and twists of my life confirmed me to say NO boldly as I submitted the LORD to direct my paths. I was a person who used to go with the flow of the current, but as I learned more about the Lord and His ways, came to know that I was called to go against the current that is taking me away from the perfect plans and will of God.
Saying NO was hard at first. I was then thinking from the interpersonal perspective only. But, I realized that saying yes to ungodly things made me weak and could break the boundary of holiness that God has directed me to keep. The weakness in my spiritual relationship with the Father and I felt guilty and lacked the confidence in coming to the presence of God as I knew that I detoured from His path.
Most of us don’t realize the fact that saying yes to ungodly things has long-term implications and could yet us bad. Kevin G. Harney quoted in his podcast interview on the topic, ‘How to say no and not feel guilty’, “Saying no in a prayerful and careful way leads to freedom, joy, and health. It also allows us to say yes to what God says matters most.”
On the contrary, nobody likes to hear No from another person. I felt as if people are forcing others to confine to their standards instead of respecting the boundaries that they had set. The employees are not ‘allowed’ to deny ‘extra work’ that their managers forcefully dump on them-they may get fired, a girl can’t say no to a proposal- they may end up with an acid attack or brutal rapes, law-abiding officers can’t say no to ‘ruling party officials’- they may get punishment transfers and so on. I respect the work atmosphere of Canada as we can’t say No to our employer if we think that it’s beyond our limits. So, the war between saying No and expecting Yes is high in this world.
The scripture of the LORD gives directions in saying NO regarding different matters and we’ll discuss them one by one. Sometimes I feel as if Christians are pressured to say yes to everything as they think that it is honouring Jesus. But, when we check the life of Jesus through the gospels, we could see that Jesus said no. When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” But He said to them “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” Mark 1:37-38 (NKJV). Jesus was focused on His purpose and when they were ‘looking’ for Him, He understood their agenda. They wanted miracles, healing and listening from Jesus, or we could say they wanted Jesus to be their alone. But, He said no and moved on with His purpose. Many fail to say No as they have either lost their vision of their calling or have compromised with the world for its passing fancies. We have to check and analyze our lives before moving on in life.
The No to the ungodly things is another step to the submission to the divine calling of “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Saying No always doesn’t mean that we should become a ‘No Machine’ firing No’s to everyone and everything around us. We must have the heart to seek His guidance in prayer. When we take everything to His presence in prayer, we receive the wisdom to discern the perfect will of God as He gradually reveals His amazing and perfect plan for our lives. We fail as we don’t know the perfect plan of God for our lives. So, submit in prayer and take every step with divine guidance. The scripture says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6.
