When I was younger, my favorite word was 'why'. 
Perhaps I was a young enneagram 8 in the making,  but I was so naturally curious; obsessed with finding the reason behind every answer to each question I had. 
My second favorite word? No. 
Why? 
No doesn't require any reasoning. 
No doesn't require any proof or backup. 
No is a complete sentence; a valid response on its own. 
We as humans have tried convincing ourselves that each response given requires reasoning for it to make sense to our lives; for it to be relevant to us means that everything must abide by reason and balance. 
Think of any time anyone has told you no in your life. 
What's your first response?
Why. 
The Lord has made it abundantly clear, through His sovereignty and glory, through His faithfulness and righteousness, that He is a God that works out of divine mercy for divine purposes. 
It could have been said for centuries why God has not delivered us through the gift of Jesus Christ. 
But God, rich in mercy, knowledge, truth, and forgiveness had the story of the world written out for ages. 
The story goes as follows:
There once was a God whose love was so great that He couldn't help but display it everywhere.
And so, He began to draw a picture. 
Suns and moons and stars, he scattered throughout all of the universe, crafting galaxies upon galaxies filled with planets and rings and all that is great. 
Then, out of all of the planets in the universe, He picked one. 
One planet to house one of the greatest love story tropes ever written: redemption. 
A story written not that we would find true love through life on this earth but that we would find true love in His heart, by His power, and through His great presence. 
The moral of this story? 
What do we do when God says no?
I ask you this in return: do you want to hold the pen?
Job in the Bible has a moment of pure frustration towards God.
After yelling at God for creating a mess within Job's life, God asks Him this:
"Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?"
Would you? Honestly?
Let me say this: it is right to be angry and to express anger. But like Paul says in Ephesians,
"In your anger, do not sin". 
What is worse than being angry is thinking that our justification is greater than the love story of redemption that the Lord has already cast on our lives.
The Author of this glorious story holds the pen because the Author has the ending in mind. 
What do we do when God says no?
Remind ourselves that:
1. No is not the end. 
2. No is not a lack of God's presence and glory and should never point to that
3. No is only what we perceive to be a dead end; God's word can move mountains, it can pave new roads too. 
What do we do when God says no?
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord for His hiding place that we have refuge in. 
Praise the Lord for creating a story that serves a living Christ first and us second.   
Praise be to God, the Author of our story and the Father we cling to through it all.