I WANT THAT ONE!

Have you ever humbly bowed your head and pleaded with God for something that He said "no" to?
Ya, I'm sure you have.
I was reminded of the times I have done that when I went to wal-mart recently and overheard a "spirited" conversation between a mother and daughter.
The little girl was determinded to get what she wanted and the mom was reasoning with her (in frusterated and somewhat frazzled tones) that the one that she (the mom) had picked out was better because it would stay pretty longer, she wouldn't outgrow it as fast and would be even more fun. But the little girl wanted the one she wanted. It was yellow and she wanted yellow.
Somewhere in the exchange I heard myself from so many other occasions saying, "Lord, I want that one."
And God, being all wise and all loving, said "no" to me because what He had in store was far better than what I had my eye on.
He knows all about the things we want and why or why not they are best for us. He knows what will happen if we do or don't get it. And He loves us enough to hold His ground and say "no".
He doesn't say no just to say no, He does it because He loves us so much that He wants us to have the very best, not to settle for second best. Sometimes I think what we ask for is far worse than second best. Sometimes we ask for trinkets (for whatever reason) and God wants to give us treasure.
There's a song that says "if God says no, there must be an even greater yes". Somewhere down the line, God will give you abundently more than we could ask or think. He has to say no sometimes to get us to yes.
When we ask for less, He's not going to give it to us because He delights in giving us better things. The best things.
That little girl was throwing a fit because she didn't get her way.
I hope we don't throw a fit when we don't get ours.
I wonder what would happen if mom had given in. She would have gotten her yellow whatever it was and she would think "look how much mom loves me, getting me what I wanted".
But soon, it would break or she'd outgrow it and have no use for it. She'd get tired of it and it wouldn't fit her needs any more. Then she would be left with something that she enjoyed for a season but all too quickly the season would come when she would disgard (or want to disgard) what she had. She could have still been enjoying it if she would have listened to mom, or if mom would have stood her ground and gotten what she saw was best for her in the long run and not what she wanted in the moment.
Which requires more love? Giving in or letting us throw a little fit but still saying no so that when the yes comes along, we will be oh so much better off.
In my life, I've been told "no" by God more than a few times. Sometimes it doesn't bother me and sometimes it does. Sometimes it downright hurts.
But looking back, I'm SO thankful for the no.
God took the no and replaced them with amazing yeses.
Looking back, I don't know where I'd be if I'd gotten some of those things that I prayed so hard about but I can tell you one thing. I wouldn't be where I am and there's a good chance I wouldn't like where I was or what I had. But where I am and what I have I do like. Love it actually. And a lot of it took some no to get here.

"When you can't trust His hand, trust His heart."