For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. 
- from 2 Corinthians 1:20
 
How many of us hear this passage an immediately want to ask: “But what about when God says ‘No’?” He doesn’t always seem to say “Yes.” And his fulfillment of his promises doesn’t always follow the course we would expect.
 
Years ago Alex introduced us to a phrase that offers great insight into this dilemma: “God’s ‘No’ is always in service to his larger ‘Yes.’”
 
God loves to say “Yes” to us. He’s full of generous joy. He gives and blesses abundantly. He’s neither miserly nor reluctant. But he does play a long game. He has a broad perspective. He won’t sacrifice our eternal enjoyment for some short-term bauble.
 
Sometimes saying “Yes” to a great good requires you to say “No” to lesser goods. It’s easy, perhaps, to say “No” to the evil or the bad. But lesser good are more challenging.
 
In Christ we see the greatest good, the ultimate good. All of God’s promises have been leading to Christ. And God speaks his “No” over everything that will distract us from Christ, everything that will lead us away from him, everything that will destroy us. 
 
Through the lens of Christ we can gain a greater perspective on all of God’s promises. You can begin at the end and trace your way back along the threads that lead to Christ. Looking at Jesus reframes how we view God’s covenant with Abram. Paying attention to Christ helps us understand the Exodus and the Exile narratives in the Old Testament (and the promises of deliverance and return that come with them). Attending to Jesus himself helps us understand our ultimate purpose as his church.
 
Would you be willing to do the hard work today of reflecting on a moment of disappointment with God through the lens of Christ? We don’t expect the disappointment to go away, but it can be transformed into a point of intimacy with God. How does the life, love, sacrifice, resurrection, and presence of Jesus reframe that experience?