The Power of Two Little Letters - NO

Do you ever find that you don't want to do something that somebody has asked you to do? Like maybe you just want to cover your eyes and pretend they're not there?

I've been there - a lot! I'm again facing that situation, so it's pretty fresh in my mind. You see, I have a problem with saying no. I am afraid of how the person asking might react.

Lately, I've been having to rethink that little word, "no." Because I've said "yes" too often, mostly without really meaning to, I have opened myself up to be used as a, pardon the overused word, doormat.

If you are asked to do something you don't want to do or feel the Lord would not have you to do, you need to prayerfully consider saying  no. God doesn't expect us to do things that are out of His will or that we cannot do with a cheerful heart.

1 Samuel 15:22 says, "But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."

It is better to pray, seek out what God has to say on the subject (Bible reading required!), and carefully obey Him, than to blindly jump into something just because you hate to decline.

And when you feel the Lord leading you into a ministry or other situation where you've been asked to go, obey and do it with a cheerful, loving attitude.