When God Says No
A week ago, I had a scary encounter with a scorpion.
My arms full of grocery bags and my keys in the front door. I felt something fall to the ground just missing my face. There, at my feet lay a partially hidden critter. All I could see were several nasty red legs.
A Frantic Search
I raced inside my house, dropped the bags and dashed out again closing the door so my three cats gathered there to greet me could not escape onto the front porch. I scoured under the welcome mat, pots and plants, but the critter had disappeared.
Shocking Discovery
Back inside, I inspected every nook and cranny of my entry way…not a trace. Convinced it had escaped into my garden, I carried my first two grocery bags into the kitchen. Returning seconds later for the rest, I found my beautiful white cat Duchess excitedly playing with a new toy — a hideous bark scorpion (considered the most dangerous type of scorpion in the U.S.) tail erect and ready to strike her perfectly pink and white nose.
Protecting the Brood
Ignoring my shouts, I hurled Duchess aside with my foot while the scorpion tried to crawl up my leg. Now, the other two cats made a lunge for it — what a great game this was for them! They are accustomed to chasing flies, moths and other bugs with my full permission.
Swirling to now protect all three cats, I finally caught the scorpion under my boot and stomped on it again and again until all that was left was red dust. My trio of felines sat frozen, staring at me. “What got into momma and why couldn’t we play with this one?”
Clear Realization
Catching my breath and wiping the perspiration from my upper lip, I was struck with how God must feel when He says no to something dangerous that looks fantastic to us. How often do we keep after it, lunging for it because why wouldn’t God give us that? Maybe we can even hurry things along by our own efforts.
When Extremes Are Necessary
Because we’re not listening, God often has to go to extremes and remove us or the temptation from our midst — stomp it underfoot until it’s dust, as it were — because while it might look harmless to us, God knows it’s poison and He loves us too much to let us have it.
Trust not Doubt
May we learn to trust that when God says no, it’s often to protect us and always with our best interests at heart.
| “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but [when we get to Heaven] then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5) |
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Great story and excellent point! I love it! But you left out the part about the – ah, well, it’s your story. But sometimes God gives us soothing elements to help us thru these hard situations!
Glad you were there to protect the cats! They will probably never understand why you destroyed their new toy… like we sometimes never understand why things are removed from our lives.
God has our very best interest in mind. I’m grateful that He never leaves us and never puts us in any situation that He can’t help us through. Thanks for your post.
Great analogy. A good example of Isaiah 55:9, “As the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Lovely, Marion. The right story at the right time. Thanks for seeing it so clearly and for sharing it so eloquently. It went straight to my heart.
I can envision this being the start of a children’s illustrated short story series with a message for kids that won’t listen to their moms… Good job, Marion!
Patricia, I’ve had this idea for a long time! Thanks for confirming the vision! Abrazos grandes.
~M. xoxo