YOU CAN SAY NO!!

Matthew 5:37 CEV

When you make a promise, say only "Yes" or "No." Anything else comes from the devil.

 

If the Lord wanted to make robots, He would have done so without apologies or permission. But He didn’t; He made man, you and I, in His image. You are neither a robot nor a doormat. You have a choice. One of those choices is to say "No" when you need to.

There are many people who would not dare to say no even when it’s impacting them negatively because of the fear of offending others. They would say yes just to please others, or for some, it’s a false humility. And there are still others who think or believe that it’s against God’s law to say no, that it’s their “Christian duty” to say yes to everyone and everything, under the wrong assumption that it pleases the Lord. No! Absolutely not!

"No" is an answer, an appropriate answer to certain questions. If we don’t have control over what we agree to, we have given up the free will the Lord gave us. We have, as the Lord gave us, choice and responsibility. The scriptures encourage us to make choices. In Deuteronomy 30:19, God sets before us "life and death, blessing and curse," urging us to "choose life." This highlights the importance of personal decision-making in faith and morality—the choice and responsibility to say yes or no when necessary.

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light," declares Matthew 11:30. Yet daily, people take on burdens that don’t belong to them, to please others, to not cause offence, and to fit in. We’ve yoked ourselves into all kinds of unnecessary binds because of the inability to say no. We fail to exercise our Christ-given right of free choice and free will. We run ourselves ragged from trying to please everybody and be the best or most humble Christian we think we ought to be for God’s sake, yet the Lord is not in most of the “yeses” we say.

Galatians 6:5 says, “For each will have to bear his own load.” That is exactly what happens when we don’t have boundaries and are unable to say no freely without guilt. Unfortunately, we bear the physical tiredness and spiritual drain put on ourselves by constantly saying yes to things we should say no to.

2 Timothy 1:7 says the Lord didn’t give us the spirit of fear. That means we must boldly say no if we must and not fearfully step into places and things we have no business being. We may honestly want to say “no” to certain things and people, but it’s the fear that compels us to say yes, which we end up regretting and feeling guilt over.

Saying "no" can be an act of self-care and integrity, ensuring that we can fully commit to the things that truly matter. Is there a specific situation you're dealing with where you need to say "no"? Then, allow Godly wisdom and discernment as stated in Proverbs 4:7 to know when to say "no," knowing that it is part of living wisely.

Jesus encourages us in our text to allow honesty and integrity to lead us in always giving the right and wise answer; either "yes" or "no." This means being clear and honest in our commitments and boundaries. A lot of times, we do things or respond with yes when we should say no, under the misguided assumption that if we don’t say yes to that thing, nobody else would. But did you enquire of the Lord? Often, yes is said to avoid conflict, and to avoid this, Proverbs 4:23 urges us to guard our hearts, for everything we do flows from it. This can mean protecting your time and energy by saying "no" to things that may harm you or lead you away from your values.

You can say no if you must.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for creating me in Your image and giving us the gift of free will. Help me to exercise this gift wisely, knowing when to say "no" to protect my heart, mind, and spirit. Grant me the courage to set boundaries and the wisdom to discern Your will in every situation. In Jesus' name, Amen.

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/womenoflight/episodes/YOU-CAN-SAY-NO-e32jt5g

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