No! A word that not many of us if any, likes to hear.  No is a much needed word and unstinting it’s meaning and utility is a necessity if we are going to live the highest and best life possible.

That is why I’m calling this installment the “Necessity of NO”

No is one of those words that I believe is misunderstood in its application.  Most people hear No as a restriction or a limitation but for me No has become a great motivator, an innovator, and even a qualifier.  It is not always the end but can become something greater, a new or different way.  It could be an end of something good so something great can take its place.

When you hit a No you are in a good position to doing something else or try something different.   No can help to find ways that don’t work so you can ultimately find something that does.  Thomas Eddison, one of the greatest  inventors of all time, when asked about why he doesn’t just give up said this:

“I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”

No can be just what you need to try something new.  No can help us find a new direction or new path.  No can help you to innovate, No might be not that way but this way.  No doesn’t have to be the end it can just mean you have just found one way that doesn’t work.  No can just mean not today but tomorrow, thats a different story.  No can help us to focus, redefine the problem, to think about it more deeply.  No flushes out the why not?

Why can’t it change? Why can’t I change?  No separates the men from the boys if I can still say that.  No requires me to hear with maturity and act accordingly.  Men and women of character hear No and accept the reality but still look for another way.  No defines your faith like no other word I can think of.

No, Its over, it cannot be done, I will not help you, that will never work, you can’t do it, you are too_______________ (fill the blank) to do it. When we hear No it is a signal that it is time to grow up and face reality not a time to pitch a fit and pout or give up.  When we hear No it should be a call to action, we can no longer continue the way we are going and a change is needed.   We would never know that if we never heard the word….

                                                       “NO”

Please don’t misunderstand me I hate to hear the word “NO”  but it does cause me to deal with the reality of the moment.  It makes me stop and think. It helps me focus again on my purpose.  No helps me to consider ALL the possibilities.

God uses No to keep us from spiritual harm, not to keep us from fun.  I can have more in the context of a No from God than all the yes’s of the world.  Pay attention to the ‘No’ in your life right now.  You might find out that someone loves you enough to take a stand and say NO.  Before you discount them as being out of touch with reality they may be the only ones standing between you and the biggest mistake you have ever made in your life.

Jesus taught this lesson often, one time after he healed a man this is what he said:

John 5:14 (NKJV)

14  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”

Sometimes No at just the right time can keep something worse from happening to you and that’s the way I see it in my market.