Raw Conversations: When God Says ‘No’
Message Date: 10/8/23
Speaker: Pastor Rod Hidalgo
The best movies are ‘chick flicks’ because they have a happy ending!
HABAKKUK
*
*Wrote Old Testament (3 chapters)
*Backwards (speaks
*Asks Difficult
Questions like:
How long is this going to take?
Why is this happening?
Is God listening?
Is God there?
Does God even care?
But what happens when the answer is NO?
When God says ‘no’, it is an
.
Habakkuk 1:5
5 “Look at the nations and watch—
and be utterly
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
Perhaps Habakkuk was expecting great things!
Habakkuk 1:6
6 I am raising up the
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwellings not their own.
Is God going to use a
Habakkuk 1:7
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;
they are a
and promote their own honor.
They have their own law, for their own benefit.
Habakkuk 1:8
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour.
Their trust is in their army.
Habakkuk 1:9-11
9 They all come intent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind
and gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings
and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
by building earthen ramps they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—
guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”
Their strength is their god.
What do we do when God says no?
When God says ‘no’, it is an
An invitation to:
1. Grow
Growth is a sign of maturity.
Ephesians 3:20:
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according
to his power that is at work within us…
2. Love
Love those who are in pain.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
3. Trust
Trust in God’s unseen plans.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to
harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and
pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me
with all your heart.
‘No’ is an invitation to grow, love, trust.
The Challenge:
*Do you need to embrace the growth that comes from a ‘no’ in this season?
*Do you need to intentionally love someone in this season?
*Are there areas where you need to increase your trust in this season?
Would you read the Bible Plan, When God Says No, with us ?
https://bible.com/p/61422933/d4a362e26d6a5802a8dd70e16fcf658a