BBD 08.13.13 Sometimes the Answer is No

#1 · August 13, 2013, 12:31 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on August 13, 2013, 12:31 pm
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The
Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries.
Celebrating 15 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than
14,000 subscribers across the world.

You can
leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is
a translation tool on theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of
all of the pages.

The Burning Bush Devotional

There are 14,000 Subscribers to the Email Devotional

08.13.13

Sometimes the Answer is No

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the
revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to
buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded
with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My
grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For
when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV.

David
has had a terrible experience and his friend Jessica I’m sure also has had a
terrible experience. David invited his girlfriend Jessica to a minor league
baseball game in Connecticut planning to propose to her. It was all setup to be
a memorable experience that the couple would remember for a lifetime. The
couple was brought out onto the field by the stadium announcer telling everyone
that David had something to ask his friend. David
kneels on one knee in front of Jessica and asks, “Will you marry me Jessica?” As
the crowd is cheering, Jessica responds, “David, I’m
sorry, I can’t” and she then ran off the baseball field. (Orange
08.06.13)

We now know that the marriage proposal was a hoax and that David
and Jessica were two employees who were part of a performance, a skit. Of
course, the video went viral on the Internet with huge numbers of people seeing
the video who will never know the failed proposal was not real. The same is
probably true for some who were present at the ball park that day.

I don’t know how many marriage proposals have been rejected or how
many have backed out prior to the marriage. I think it would be heart rending
to have that happen in your life. The thing to remember here is this: It is not
the end of the world. It may seem like it, but good can come from it if we will
allow God to use it in our lives. Romans 8:28 is true
where we are told, “And we
know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are the called according to His purpose.” This
is not an automatic promise, but it is a true promise for those who love God
and seek His will to be brought about in their lives.

The
apostle Paul had some kind of physical ailment, and many of us have attempted
to suggest what it might have been. We do know that he had a problem with his
eyesight, but it could have been any number of things in an age without having
access to the medical treatment that we have today. Paul says, “…I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart
from me.” Now when Paul says he pleaded three times it would not have
been a causal short one sentence prayer. It perhaps would have involved fasting
and prayer for many days. However, the answer was still no; even for the
apostle Paul.

We can
see the evidence of the truth of Romans 8:28 in
the apostle Paul’s life. Paul tells us there in 2
Corinthians, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that
the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities,
in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.” Through God giving Paul daily
strength to endure his affliction, his inner strength grew as the Lord was able
to work more powerfully through the apostle. Whenever God or even some person
says “No” in your life, remember God
can do the same for you as he did for Paul.

Copyright © 2013. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals
was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities
throughout the United States and Canada.

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
No matter what the size your church, Ed will come on a love offering basis for
a revival or to share his testimony in the continental United States. You can
make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or WratherEd@gmail.com
View LinkedIn profile with endorsements at
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of
prayer - please pray for me.).

Please join the Burning Bush Prayer Group.
The group began in 1998 and is made up of over 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive prayer
requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo
devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may
subscribe to the html text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is
only being sent now in html format) by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The
Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries.
Celebrating 15 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than
14,000 subscribers across the world.

You can
leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is
a translation tool on theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of
all of the pages.

The Burning Bush Devotional

There are 14,000 Subscribers to the Email Devotional

08.13.13

Sometimes the Answer is No

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the
revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to
buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded
with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My
grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For
when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV.

David
has had a terrible experience and his friend Jessica I’m sure also has had a
terrible experience. David invited his girlfriend Jessica to a minor league
baseball game in Connecticut planning to propose to her. It was all setup to be
a memorable experience that the couple would remember for a lifetime. The
couple was brought out onto the field by the stadium announcer telling everyone
that David had something to ask his friend. David
kneels on one knee in front of Jessica and asks, “Will you marry me Jessica?” As
the crowd is cheering, Jessica responds, “David, I’m
sorry, I can’t” and she then ran off the baseball field. (Orange
08.06.13)

We now know that the marriage proposal was a hoax and that David
and Jessica were two employees who were part of a performance, a skit. Of
course, the video went viral on the Internet with huge numbers of people seeing
the video who will never know the failed proposal was not real. The same is
probably true for some who were present at the ball park that day.

I don’t know how many marriage proposals have been rejected or how
many have backed out prior to the marriage. I think it would be heart rending
to have that happen in your life. The thing to remember here is this: It is not
the end of the world. It may seem like it, but good can come from it if we will
allow God to use it in our lives. Romans 8:28 is true
where we are told, “And we
know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are the called according to His purpose.” This
is not an automatic promise, but it is a true promise for those who love God
and seek His will to be brought about in their lives.

The
apostle Paul had some kind of physical ailment, and many of us have attempted
to suggest what it might have been. We do know that he had a problem with his
eyesight, but it could have been any number of things in an age without having
access to the medical treatment that we have today. Paul says, “…I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart
from me.” Now when Paul says he pleaded three times it would not have
been a causal short one sentence prayer. It perhaps would have involved fasting
and prayer for many days. However, the answer was still no; even for the
apostle Paul.

We can
see the evidence of the truth of Romans 8:28 in
the apostle Paul’s life. Paul tells us there in 2
Corinthians, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that
the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities,
in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.” Through God giving Paul daily
strength to endure his affliction, his inner strength grew as the Lord was able
to work more powerfully through the apostle. Whenever God or even some person
says “No” in your life, remember God
can do the same for you as he did for Paul.

Copyright © 2013. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals
was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities
throughout the United States and Canada.

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
No matter what the size your church, Ed will come on a love offering basis for
a revival or to share his testimony in the continental United States. You can
make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or WratherEd@gmail.com
View LinkedIn profile with endorsements at
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of
prayer - please pray for me.).

Please join the Burning Bush Prayer Group.
The group began in 1998 and is made up of over 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive prayer
requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo
devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may
subscribe to the html text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is
only being sent now in html format) by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org