“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you prayed and prayed that God would give it to you, only for Him to say No? I am sure you probably have. I know I have done that, and it’s not the most enjoyable experience to have God answer your prayer differently than you wanted. It is important to remember that when God says No, it is because He loves us. If you think because God loves you that He’s going to say Yes to everything you ask Him, you’ve probably never been a parent.Think about it.

Let’s assume your child walks over to the stove top and you have a gas burner. He sees that blue flame flickering, and he wants to touch it. Because you love your child, do you let him touch it? Of course, you don’t! You pull his hand back away from the flame and tell him he will get hurt if he touches it.God works the exact same way.

As our Heavenly Father, He knows much more than we do. When we see something that looks amazing and wonderful from our perspective, He can see if what we want is actually going to hurt us, cause us pain, or set us back.There’s an old saying, “God sees the whole parade, while you only see the one float passing by.” Our view, perspective, and knowledge are limited by our humanity. We can only see our past and our present, but God sees our past, present, and future.

He knows how this thing you are asking for could affect many other areas of our life in ways you can’t even imagine. Instead of immediately feeling disappointed and angry when God says No, I encourage you to be thankful for His protection and trust. He knows what is best for you. His thoughts and His ways are so much higher than ours, so let’s make the choice to rest in that truth today.