When God's answer is "NO"

Tonite our pastor continued his lessons on prayer. This one hit that "sweet spot"; spoke to me; "nailed it"...in other words, I GOT THE MESSAGE!

Talking through I Chronicles, he spoke about how God had honored David in so many ways:
1. He helped him successfully beat up on a bear and a lion
2. He gave him rocks and a sling and David beat up on a dragon
3. He put him with an army and together they beat up on their enemies

God gave David victory, honored him, heard his prayers (I presume these were "Yes's")...it was all good. However, David wanted more than anything to build a temple and God said:

NO

Yes, that is right, God said NO. Yikes...not the Hollywood ending we all expect of God, huh? I never really thought of this before, but here's what David did as a response to God's NO...

1. He sat before the Lord (I Chronicles 17:16)
David didn't pout; refuse to spend time with God; complain; lament; question...He did,
however keep company with God
2. He did "get historical" (my pastor's phrase) with God.
He remembered with God who God had been in his life, who he (David) was in God's eyes,
and who God is-always and forever, no matter what. He reviewed God's faithfulness and
blessing in the past, and believed that that was still true in the present and would also be
true in the future.
3. He got courageous and prayed, as he had prayed in the past when the answers were YES

It was such a good lesson for me and I've been thinking about it a lot this evening. SO...here's what I believe and decide:
*God is God. He gets to do what He wants to do, because He can
*God is good. He gets to say YES and He gets to say NO...and in both situations He is still being
good.
*My interpretation of God's NO's is almost always a negative one. Often my response is to
"take a time out"; to ask "WHY?"; to lament; to doubt; to be sad; to FORGET who God is and
who I am in Him.
*I want to be different. I want to respond like David. When I have a dream, whatever that dream is, and God says NO, I want to come before Him, remember who He is, who I am, and courageously keep praying and "keeping company with Him"
*I want to change. I want to be excited about any and all answers from God: the NO answer, the YES answer and that dreaded WAIT answer.

And you know what? Something else that's pretty painful for me? I want to do a better job with the leadership at work. I'm not equating them to God, but they do get to say YES and NO to things in my work life. I don't have to worry about whether they are good or not; or whether they are right or not: because I know the ONE who is GOOD and RIGHT all the time. SO...when they say NO (or nothing for awhile, which may become a NO), I need to
1. Keep company with God
2. Remember with Him all the answers He has provided through the months and years
("get historical")
3. Don't fret, become anxious, whine, or worry
4. Be courageous and keep praying

God is in control, when He puts me under the leadership of others--He is still in control. I choose to believe that; to stake my reputation and my life on it. God, help me live it out in a daily way; help me to remember who you are, who I am in you, and that I can trust you with the "NO's" of others, as well as the "Yes's". Amen and Amen