At a conference last weekend, during a break, I saw my niece walk past with a forlorn look on her face. Usually when that happens, something's wrong and she can't find her parents. So I stopped her and asked if she was okay. Her problem surprised me.
"Daddy said I can't go outside," she lamented. (When you're four years old, this is indeed a reason to cry.)
I tried to console her, assuring her that her father had a good reason for refusing her this pleasure.
I don't know whether it helped; but I recalled this episode two days later, as I thought about a request I've made of my heavenly Father. It seems that His answer is no in this case. And I'm slowly learning, like every child must, that my Father has a good reason for refusing me this pleasure.
"...No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
~Psalm 84:11
I'm reminded of young Amy Carmichael, who asked the Lord to make her eyes blue. When she awoke and found them still brown, she heard a voice say, "Isn't 'no' an answer?" Of course it is. And if our heavenly Father tells us "no," it's because the thing we're asking of Him is not good.
