Between yes and no, we generally think of yes as the best answer. However, there are times when no is the best answer. When we say “yes” to Jesus, we say “no” to Satan –and vice-versa. There are some people in the Bible who are famous for saying “no.” We will take a look at them and maybe learn from them how to say “no.”
Joseph Said no. Genesis 39:9: “There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” This was Joseph’s answer to Potiphar’s wife when she tried to seduce him. Evidently, she was a beautiful woman and was not accustomed to having men say no to her. Notice that Joseph said no because he did not want to betray Potiphar, but more importantly, he did not want to betray God. He saw adultery as a sin against God. If Joseph had said yes to this seductive woman, he would have been saying yes to Satan and no to God. In those times when we are sorely tempted to sin against God, we should learn to say no as Joseph did. We need to ask ourselves which is more important, to seek pleasure for a moment or seek to please God. Pleasure has become a way of life to us and we need to guard against those pleasures that betray ourselves, others and God. Shadrach Meshach and Abednego said no. In Daniel three we read about Nebuchadnezzar’s command that all of the people were to bow down to an image of gold. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered in the negative. They told Nebuchadnezzar that God was able to deliver them, but if God chose not to deliver them, they would still not serve his god’s or worship his golden image. (Daniel 3:17-18) We too have to make a choice as to who and what we will worship. We can choose to worship money, property, family, etc. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we need to say no to all that the world offers that would call us away from our commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything that the world offers is not evil, but sometimes Satan makes it difficult to tell the difference. We need to always say yes to what God offers. Keep in mind that they said no at peril of their lives. The stakes might not be as physically high to us, but they are spiritually high under any circumstances. Daniel said no. The jealous princes who served with Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar’s court, not being able to find anything else, concocted a scheme to get him killed. They talked Nebuchadnezzar into signing a law that anyone who asked petition of any god or man for thirty days should be thrown into a den of lions. Daniel knew about the law, but he still went three times a day to pray facing Jerusalem. He prayed to the God of Israel. He would not be coerced into substituting Nebuchadnezzar for God. Nothing could keep Daniel from praying. Can anything keep us from praying? Say no to Satan when he tempts you not to pray, because he knows that prayerlessness will rob you of spiritual power. Jesus said no. In Matthew 4 and Luke 4 Jesus was tempted by Satan. He had fasted forty days and forty nights and was very hungry. He was physically weak, so Satan sought to take advantage of it. You remember that each time Jesus said no to Satan that He quoted scripture to him. Satan is very much aware of our weaknesses and of our weak moments, and he will try to get us to do his bidding. Like Jesus, we should say no to him based on what the word of God says. Like the three examples above, learn to tell Satan no. It is important to do so.
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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