Discerning and abiding by the NO!
Discerning the NO from God is essential for the growth of a Christian, and respecting the NO of fellow brethren falls on the other side of this coin. Many Christians act self-centred and try to ignore the boundary set by others as they think boundaries and NOs are not essential if the parties are followers of Christ. Every NO from God is for our pruning and spiritual edification. Most of the time, we accept edification through His guidance but we murmur as He prunes us to bear more fruits.
As we read 1 Kings 13, we read of a man of God appointed and anointed by the LORD to prophesy against King Jeroboam. When God appointed him, He gave him special directions as well. “You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.” (Verse 9)- a NO set by the Lord. The king and the country left the living God and started worshipping idols. The direction by God to this prophet was a sign not to be in fellowship with the idols Though he denied the invitation of Jeroboam, but was tricked by a prophet who lied. And eventually, we see that the man of God was killed by lions.
When going through a No phase, remember:
- No- it protects. It keeps us from going away from His path as He knows us completely. No is not just a boundary, it’s like the guided voice that leads us through the righteous path. It’s the rod and the staff that consoles us.
- Violation of No is death: The no is the boundary that keeps us from falling into the snares and devices of this world. But violating it leads to destruction. It is sinning against the Lord as we are disobeying the guidance given by Him. Sin keeps us away from God and could potentially lead to spiritually disconnected from God if we don’t seek forgiveness. If we have violated His command, seek His face and turn to Him. He is merciful and will forgive our iniquities.
- God redirects: No is not the end of our journey, it is a redirection to teach us and a time for us to taste that the Lord is good. Most of us get weary as God redirects us as we think that we were progressing better in our previous course. Redirections take us through paths that we least expect but we learn to trust God more and we could cultivate a habit of complete dependency on Him as He is always there for us. Redirections are God’s appointment to teach us His grace and to chisel away the things that are not up to His standards. Yes! It’s a pruning process.
- Seek God if someone says otherwise: “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14; so, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1. Discernment is essential for a child of God. The boundaries of holiness are not something that everyone understands; they evolve as you get closer to God. If someone pops up with a different standard, make sure to consult it with God as He guided you through the standard that you are currently on.
Abiding or following the NO path is critical and many gets weary as the passions of this era are strongly luring them. Abiding is essential as our Christian growth is founded on those boundaries. The culture might gives us freedom in everything, but if we have chosen the kingdom living and kingdom priority, we ought to abide what God has comanded. The No is not restricting or encroaching our freedom, but it is giving us an opportunity to deny ourselves and to conform to the divine nature of Christ. Christendom is not a life without a standard, it demands quality of living according to the will of God and growing to the stature of Christ everyday.
