By Andrea Goebel
God’s Way
“You always tell me no! I don’t like it!”
I’ve heard these words many times when my children don’t like my response to their questions.
Often, these questions are about playing on their tablets or eating a sweet treat, and if the timing isn’t right, I tell them no.
They don’t like to hear that word, and I understand. I don’t like to be told no, either.
In reality, I’m trying to prevent my children from having too much screen time or sugar. I know how their attitudes and behaviors change if they have either of these in excess. However, my children don’t see things from my perspective, so they don’t understand my answer. Sometimes, they argue and take their frustration out on me.
When those moments come, I try to show empathy and understanding. I usually share a personal experience they can relate to, such as a time when I ate ice cream and had a stomachache afterward. I had felt God telling me not to indulge my craving, but as I had many times before, I insisted on my own way, and that’s the result I got. God knew I would have a stomachache if I ate the ice cream, and he was trying to protect me from that outcome, but I didn’t listen.
Sometimes, I need to be told no, too. I may not like it, but it’s for my own good.
After God created Adam, “The Lord God gave the man this order: ‘You are free to eat from any of the trees of the gardenexcept the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die’” (Genesis 2:16-17).
We all know what happened next: the serpent tricked Adam and Eve into believing it was good for them to eat the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve had no idea what was to come after they fell prey to this lie: they would feel ashamed of themselves, hide from God, and ultimately be banished from his garden. I can only imagine the regret they must have felt.
I know how sorry I feel when I sin and separate myself from God.
Sometimes, God tells us no because he wants to protect us from something harmful, and sometimes, he tells us no because he is waiting to bestow a blessing on us that we just can’t see yet.
God wants the best for us, and he asks us to obey him even though we do not have eyes to see his ultimate plan. We can trust him because “we know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Andrea Goebel, her husband and three children live in Mt. Vernon. They are members of St. Philip Parish in Posey County.