There are moments when things just click, those “ah ha” moments where everything suddenly makes sense. That’s really the whole point of this blog: sharing those insights, those realizations, and the little things that reveal them.

Most of the time, when I write, it’s about something from the distant past, lessons that took years to learn. This one… kind of is, and kind of isn’t.

Recently, I was talking with some friends who are in the middle of an adoption. They now have their sweet baby, and as mom was telling me the story, here’s the short version: another family they knew had the opportunity to adopt this child. As much as they wanted to, they didn’t have peace about it, so they said no.

In the end, that child was adopted by a family who had been trying and praying for that exact blessing. It couldn’t have worked out better.

As my friend shared more, she mentioned that the family who said no had wondered where the baby would end up, whether they’d ever know how the story turned out. And, as it would happen, the baby was adopted by friends they knew. So while they aren’t the parents, they still get to be part of that child’s life.

And then she said something that hit me hard: You don’t always get to see what God is doing when He says no. But He always has a plan, and there’s always a blessing at the end of it.

Pause for a second and think about that.

That shouldn’t be a new idea for someone who’s been a believer as long as I have. And honestly, it’s not. But in that moment, it landed differently. It hit like a freight train.

God is always at work. And just because we don’t get the answer we want doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.

I had one of those “I got to see why” moments recently.

At the beginning of 2026, I was in discussions about a potential job change that would’ve required moving to another state. It was one of those dream jobs, you know the kind. The “X” company, the “X” title, the “X” salary, the “X” location. The kind of opportunity people daydream about.

I was excited. Not just about the opportunity, but about what it represented. If I’m being honest, there was a little pride mixed in there too, being considered, the prestige of it, the kind of thing you put on a résumé or LinkedIn profile and think, “Yeah, that’s something.”

And then… it didn’t happen.

I was crushed.

Months of anticipation. Months of imagining what the next chapter would look like. Nothing was wrong where I was. This just felt like the next step forward, bigger, better, exciting. And in a single day, it was gone.

Like most people, I started blaming myself. Maybe I wasn’t good enough. Maybe I didn’t deserve it. You know how that spiral goes.

Outwardly, I said all the right things. “Well, if God wanted it, it would’ve happened. I just want to be obedient to His calling.” All said with a smile that didn’t quite match what was going on underneath.

Fast forward a couple of months.

That company? Things have taken a turn. Not catastrophic, but enough to create tension, organizational changes, restructuring, people shifting roles, people leaving, others being asked to leave. A lot of uncertainty, a lot of stress. Just… messy. And I could have been right in the middle of it.

There I was, feeling discouraged and less than, when in reality, God was protecting me from something I couldn’t see. He knew. I didn’t.

I was upset about missing out on something I thought was amazing. He knew exactly why it didn’t happen. He didn’t want me in the middle of that.

Looking back, I can think of so many moments like this in my life. The pattern is always the same: something doesn’t happen, I wrestle with it, and then later I realize, oh, God did that on purpose.

And every time, I still fight it. This isn’t really about controlling emotions. It’s about faith. Not just saying the right things, but actually believing them.

God is in control. Of course I want to be obedient. Of course I want to trust Him. That’s easy to say. But when the moment comes, when something doesn’t go the way I want, why is trust the first thing that wavers? Why don’t I rest in the truth that if God wanted it to happen, it would? And when it doesn’t, why don’t I fully believe it’s because He has a plan, even if I can’t see it?

I know I’m not the only one. We all wrestle with this.

Maybe you’re reading this right in the middle of one of those moments. Maybe this is for you, or maybe it’s for someone you know. I don’t always know who needs to hear it. I just know when something happens and I feel compelled to share it.

We know the verse. Or at least, we should. If we don’t, we need to.

Memorize it. Say it out loud when things don’t make sense. Repeat it. And most importantly, believe it. Hold onto it.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Sometimes, God says No. And that's ok. It's not a strike against you or me. It's His plan.