Faithful Man: Devotions for Living in Faithless TimesIsampula

When There’s Life After “No”

If you are still breathing, then your story isn’t over. Your final no—“You have no days left here on earth”—has not been spoken. And today’s devotion is to assure you that there can be life after no. I say there can be, not there will be, because how you live your “after no”—whether you fully live your life after no—is up to you. There can be life after no, but you have to choose to live it.

There’s no rush. You may need to sit in your no for a time, grieving, remembering. It’s hard work, grief. It’s sleepless nights and anguished prayers. It’s red eyes and a tired heart. But it’s necessary.

But one day (how soon we cannot say), your grief won’t be over (is grief ever “over”?), but it will be. . .in a resting place. A place where you can tuck it gently into a box in a corner of your heart, and you won’t have to open the box every day. Some days you’ll pull it out, relive the memories, feel the pain spring up once more, but most days you’ll be able to leave it there while you go on living.

I can’t answer all the when questions—or even the how questions—but I can tell you this: if you are still alive, then God still has life in store for you. Relationships. Blessings. Even joy. Our God specializes in surprising turns and second acts. Consider what He did for some of the Bible characters we’ve met this week: Naaman eventually found healing—and faith in the true God. Naomi moved past bitterness and held an adopted grandson in her arms. Jesus conquered the grave.

Moses, who spent forty years wandering in the desert, once asked God, “Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble” (Psalm 90:15). Moses knew that when God says no, there can be life, and even joy, on the other side of the heartache.

Finding your footing in that life takes faith, courage, and time. The point is not that you live happily ever after, fairy-tale style—but that you live. That you open your door, blink in bright sun, and take a few steps out into the world. Every day you walk a few steps farther. Who knows what God has in store for you down the road? Perhaps He will surprise you, even amaze you. Maybe God has said no to one thing. . .but He’s saying yes to something else. Maybe God has said no to one dream. . .but He’s sparking a new one in your heart. One of these days you may step outside and find yourself joyful again. Hopeful again. Dreaming again.

Yes, your life after no will be different from the life you had imagined, the one you had wanted, but it will still be a life worth living. And that’s no small thing.

We hope this plan encouraged you. It is based on the book When God Says, “No”: Facing Disappointment and Denial Without Losing Heart, Losing Hope, or Losing your Head. Find more from the author, Elizabeth Laing Thompson, at https://lizzylife.com/books/.