Listen to Audio Devotion
Learning to say no is an important part of our life. I used to be a person who wouldn’t say no because I felt as if maybe I would lose an opportunity or maybe I lose favor from people if I say no. But over the years I learned that if I don’t say no, I’m harming myself. And also I’m keeping myself from really accomplishing what God wants me to do.
The Bible says in
Matthew 5:37 NIV
All you need to say is simply yes or no. Anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Often, as Christians, we are so kind enough to say yes to everything, even if it’s a task that we wouldn’t have the time to do. We say yes. Hoping that somehow, you know, you’ll find the time to do it and you’ll be able to accomplish that. But the reality is we just cannot do the task because we do not have the time nor the resources to do that. There are three reasons why we should say no. The first reason is when we are asked to do something that displeases God. Second, when we are asked to do something that will cause harm to us. And third, when we are asked to do something for which we do not have the resource.
Whenever you are asked to do any task, you should look at these three things. Is it something that displeases God or will it cause harm, or is it beyond my means, beyond my resources? Maybe you don’t have the time to do something, but you still overcome it. Even, that is a wrong thing to do because you say yes, eventually you wouldn’t be able to do it. What is a more Christian thing, a pleasing thing to God is that you say yes and you do it, saying yes and then not showing up. I know people who say, yes, I’ll do this, I’ll do that, but then they won’t even show up to something to do certain things. They will change their mind. As God’s children, we have to remember that our yes has to be always yes and no, has to be a no, and there is no sin in saying no.
So if it’s something that displeases God, something that will cause harm to us, and something that is beyond our means, then we should be comfortable with saying no. Don’t think of gaining favor or pleasing people. Pleasing people is a never-ending process. It’s like a bottomless pit. Keeps going on and on.
The more you please people, the more you are required to please people. It just, it’s a cycle that keeps repeating. And, and, and sometimes we say yes because we feel like we are gonna miss out on good opportunities. We don’t have to fear losing opportunities. Rather, we must be more focused on doing the very things that God wants us to do.
As you begin your day, remember saying No is not a sin. But saying yes and not doing something is actually a sin. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.
Let’s pray
Father, we thank you because you’re the God who cares about how we live, and how we plan our day. Help us to say yes to the right things and help us to say no to the things that are not required. Help us to be careful of our time and the commitments that we make. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
