Red Light Green Light: Saying "No" So We Can Say "Yes" to GodÖrnek

Sometimes God, in extraordinary circumstances, gives us supernatural graces to communicate His will and bypasses the normal process of exercising common-sense judgment. Those charismatic moments can be beautiful, though even they need to be tested. But ordinarily, God acts through careful thinking about how we can best love Him and our neighbor at the moment. Through praying for divine direction, striving for purity of heart, making the maximal use of our gifts to better church and world, relying on wise mentors for advice and correction, making our best judgments, and then going forward with a will to persevere and carry the cross; all the while open to correction along the way. God is a father, not a dictator. A lover, not a puppet master. He doesn’t give us the freedom only to render it irrelevant. Yes, he wants us to have the heart of a child, but also the mind of an adult. Do you find it hard when you get requests like: “Will you please go with me to my cousin-in-law’s birthday party?” “Can you help house sit my pets?” “Are you in the area and able to give me a ride to the doctor’s office?” We need the help of the Holy Spirit to know when to say yes and when to say no. How can you use your nos well and appropriately? How do you avoid the guilt that comes from saying no? Nothing comes for free. When you say yes to anything, you have said no to a few other things. To start living a fulfilled life, it’s important to learn to say no, that way you can easily say yes to God’s purpose for you each day.