When Life Says No
Learning to trust God when the answer you receive isn’t the one you hoped for.
A daily devotional adapted from The Drive podcast
I was with family at a beautiful cabin in Island Park, Idaho, getting ready to go fishing for the afternoon. Lunch had just been made for the kids, and—as kids often do—one of my nieces made it very clear she wanted a popsicle instead.
Her parents tried reasoning. They tried incentivizing. They tried pleading.
Nothing worked.
Finally, her mom calmly drew a line:
“If you don’t eat your lunch, you don’t get a popsicle.”
Negotiations were over.
My niece did what any child would do. She said, “FINE!” Then she marched upstairs, stomping with every ounce of dramatic intensity her tiny legs could manage—arms folded, face scowling—before slamming her parents’ bedroom door shut.
A moment later, the door cracked open to see if anyone had changed their mind.
No one had.
Another huff. Another door slam.
Eventually, she came back downstairs—much quieter this time—and agreed to eat her lunch first.
At the time, it was adorable and funny. But later it hit me:
Adults aren’t all that different.
When No Hurts
There are moments in life when we’re told no—by God, by circumstances, or by other people—and those no’s can hurt deeply.
No to a job.
No to marriage.
No to children.
No to health.
No to a future you worked toward for years.
Some no’s don’t just disappoint us. They break our hearts.
And when they come—and they will—it’s natural to feel angry, hurt, or confused. Go easy on yourself in those moments. But don’t stay there too long. Like my niece alone in that room, isolation can quietly harden into something colder than disappointment.
When my daughters were young, I took them to the pediatrician for immunizations. Those visits were brutal. One moment they were happy and carefree—then came the needle.
What hurt the most wasn’t the shot.
It was the look they gave me afterward.
That look that said, “Why didn’t you protect me?”
In an instant, I went from being the greatest dad in the world to the worst. And believe me—there were moments I wanted to stop it. But I knew something they couldn’t yet understand: the pain they were experiencing would protect them later… maybe even save them.
When life hurts and God allows it, it’s natural to look heavenward with the same question:
“Why didn’t you stop this?”
But there is often a bigger purpose unfolding than we can see.
Hannah’s Long No
One of the most powerful examples of this is Hannah from the Bible. All she wanted was to be a mother—and for most of her life, the answer was no.
She endured heartbreak, ridicule, and years of waiting.
Eventually, she prayed with such surrender that she promised God if He gave her a son, she would give that son back to Him.
God answered.
And Hannah kept her promise.
That child—Samuel—became one of the greatest prophets in Israel.
What she couldn’t see at the time was that her no wasn’t denying her something—it was guiding her toward something greater.
God’s promise remains:
“All things work together for good to them that love God.” (Romans 8:28)
And:
“Ye cannot behold… the design of your God… and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.” (D&C 58:3)
I’ll also add this:
After the shots were over, I always took my girls for ice cream.
God does that too.
Hannah later had five more children.
Ice cream comes—but sometimes only after trust.
Today’s Daily Challenge
If you’ve been told no recently—
If you’ve been hurting, frustrated, or hiding behind a closed door—
Try opening it.
Trust that God sees more than you do.
Trust that this no is not the end of your story.
And if someone you know is carrying a heavy no, share this with them today.
Because God’s message is always one of hope.
Thanks for taking a moment to reflect today.
For daily devotionals and episode topics, visit
https://joshdowns.com/daily-devotionals
For gospel-centered lessons designed specifically for teens, explore
https://joshdowns.com/come-follow-me-for-teens
