DESPERATELY SEEKING HIM Luke 11:9-13New International Version (NIV)
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[a] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Ask+Seek+Knock=ASK You think Jesus is trying to prove a point? He says Ask, Seek, Knock! Now I may not be the smartest person but I think He wants me to ASK. Jesus’ tone is to ASK and to be confident that God will respond and give what is requested. Jesus tells us in Luke to identify what we want, name it and to be explicit.
He instructs us to ask what we want persistently. Ask confidently that God will give us what we ask for. I think there is an ongoing theme here. John 14:13-14 says “13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
I think I might be getting the picture. He doesn’t just say ASK. He says Ask, Seek, Knock. Or as pastor said Sunday-PURSUE! It’s continual. Keep asking, Keep seeking, Keep knocking. Don’t Quit. Don’t give up until I get an answer. Show God how important it is to me; and God, like a loving Father, will provide for my needs and give the Holy Spirit freely to me because I asked. We can trust Him. He won’t give it like a friend or family member that does it so I quit asking or bothering them. No, God will give us what we need because He loves us. He wants to show us how important it is that we learn to DEPEND ON HIM, as a source of good things.
If we constantly seek God, He will be found! But we must constantly seek Him. We can’t just seek Him when we are in trouble or have a problem. We need to continuously Ask, Seek, Knock.
This leads me to our small group study the other night. It dealt with prosperity. Do we call upon God during times when things are going good? Do we get complacent when we are healthy, everything going great, covering expenses etc? Do we forget that God is the reason that things are going so well? Do we give thanks because things are going so well? Or do we just call on God when we have problems, troubles, are sick etc?
Jesus tells us to actively seek/pursue God. In good times & in bad. Ask and He will provide. It may not (probably won’t) be on our schedule or time frame. And it may not be exactly what we asked for. But when we look at the bigger picture-God’s picture, then we realize He did answer. He did provide, He did open the door when we knocked.
Do you ask? Do you Seek? Do you Actively Pursue God? I would love to hear about your pursuits.
Father, I come today asking, seeking, knocking, pursuing you. Please forgive me that I get complacent, get comfortable and don’t call upon you giving thanks and praise when things are going well. Please forgive me if I only call upon you when I am in need. I Love You! I depend on You! I need you in good times & bad. You are my Lord & Savior, without you I am nothing. I ask you to use me as your vessel ministering to all that I come into contact with today & in the future until I sit at the right of Jesus. Amen
Jerry