When God Says No: Learning to Sit with God’s Will

“How can anyone know what is best for a man in this short, useless life of his — a life that passes like a shadow?”- Ecclesiastes 6:12 (GNT).

When I think about the above verse, the answer is God. Only He knows what’s best for us.

King Hezekiah was one of the few kings of Judah who was loyal to the Lord.

In fact, 2 Kings 18:5–6 says: "Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; Judah never had another king like him either before or after his time. He was faithful to the Lord and never disobeyed Him…”

That’s quite a resume.

At one point, though, Hezekiah fell seriously ill. Almost died. And during that time, the prophet Isaiah came to him with a message straight from God: put everything in order, you’re not going to recover, get ready to die (2 Kings 20:1).

That’s not a doctor’s opinion. That’s not a rumor. That’s God speaking through a prophet.

If I were Hezekiah, I think I would have accepted it. Maybe I’d be sad, maybe very dejected, but I’d eventually come to terms with it. I’d start saying my goodbyes. Probably even go coffin-box shopping. Haha.

But Hezekiah didn’t do that.

Instead, the Bible says he turned his face to the wall and prayed. And he cried. Bitterly. Imagine that. A king. Crying like that before God.

What’s interesting is this: when Hezekiah prayed, he didn’t directly ask God to heal him. He didn’t explicitly say, “Please give me more years.” Instead, he said this:

“Remember, Lord, how I have served you faithfully and loyally and how I have always tried to do what you wanted me to do.” (2 Kings 20:3)

Does God need reminding? Obviously not.

So why did Hezekiah pray like that?

I don’t think he had lost hope. I don’t think he had lost the will to live either. Sure, Proverbs 18:14 (GNT) is wisdom. Even after receiving a direct word from God, he still prayed. He still poured his heart out. There was something very child-like about it. Almost stubborn.

Here’s a strange image that came to my mind.

Imagine you have a pet golden retriever. Lovely dogs. Always ebullient. You take it for a morning walk in a big, green park. Sunny day. Kids playing. Birds chirping. It’s been an hour, and it’s time to go home.

The dog doesn’t agree.

Photo by Eric Ward

It slows down. Resists. Maybe even sits down dramatically. Gives you that look that says, “Just five more minutes, human.” Not crying bitterly, but definitely whining. People around start watching. Someone might even record you both and upload it to the internet.

America’s Funniest Videos, here we come. Haha.

That’s kind of how Hezekiah looks to me in my imagination. And maybe, in God’s eyes too.

His trust in God was deep. Whole-hearted. Almost naive. Like a child with a parent or a loyal dog with its owner. He wasn’t calculating outcomes. He just didn’t want to go yet.

And God heard him.

Hezekiah was given 15 more years to live.

Most sermons stop there. Miracle. Prayer answered. God is good. Everyone claps. Yay!

But was that really what God wanted?

God originally wanted Hezekiah to leave this earth and come to Him.

What happened in those extra 15 years matters a lot.

During that time, Hezekiah fathered a son named Manasseh. Chapter 21 of 2 Kings begins by saying Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king. Which means he was born after Hezekiah’s life was extended.

And Manasseh turned out to be one of the most wicked kings Judah ever had!

He built altars for idols. Worshipped other gods, stars. Sacrificed his own son as a burnt offering. He filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. The Bible says the Lord’s anger burned intensely because of him. (2 Kings 21:3, 6, 16)

It’s chilling.

Perhaps God, in His wisdom, saw what was coming.

Perhaps He knew what kind of destruction would follow.

Perhaps He didn’t want Manasseh to be born at all.

Hezekiah couldn’t have known that. He was just a faithful, obedient, golden retriever kind of man who loved God deeply.

But love alone isn’t always the same as surrender.

Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, sounded a bit like Hezekiah when He prayed. He asked if the cup of suffering could pass from Him. But then came the words that changed everything: “Yet not what I want, but what you want…” (Mark 14:36, GNT).

Those words matter. Immensely.

Imagine if Jesus didn’t say them. Whoa! We’d be in very deep trouble.

The cup had to be drunk.

Hezekiah refused his cup. Jesus didn’t.

One man’s refusal led to a nation slowly falling apart through Manasseh. One man’s surrender led to the salvation of humanity.

C.S. Lewis put it painfully well: "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’”

That quote deserves to sit right here. Let it linger.

So what do we learn from this?

If God says something, let it be final. Even if it costs you your life. Even if it doesn’t make sense. Even if it hurts.

If Abraham had argued endlessly for Isaac instead of obeying, we probably wouldn’t be here.

God’s wisdom runs far deeper than our timelines, emotions, and logic.

Our mortal minds are puny. Short-sighted.

May we remember that His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways.” (Isaiah 55:8)

It is humbling. And definitely uncomfortable.

But maybe that’s the point.

Writing is one of the ways I process faith and life, and this post is part of that journey. If you’d like to explore more of my writing, you can visit my Amazon Author Central page and check out my books.

Thanks for reading!

© Dr. Anudeep Manne