Ask, Seek, Knock

Ask and ye shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. These three promises all seem like they’re more or less saying the same thing, but there are important differences, and the way we ask often depends on the answer we receive from the Lord. Sometimes, we ask the Lord and then we receive. God is our loving father. He wants us to be the best possible version of ourselves, and so when we come to Him with a righteous desire, with a sincere heart and with faith in Christ, He gives us what we ask for. But sometimes we ask for the wrong thing, or the right thing at the wrong time. God knows us. He knows that sometimes the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. God knows that we are often not yet strong enough or wise enough or do not yet have room enough in our heart to receive the thing we ask for. He wants us to grow and learn and seek out the answer. The answer that we find is often more valuable than the answer that is given to us. It is good to struggle. We may not be ready now, but by the time we finish seeking, we will find that we are now strong enough and wise enough to receive what God has prepared for us. And lastly, sometimes we ask, and sometimes we seek, and sometimes we knock and we knock and we knock ourselves bloody trying to obtain what we are looking for. We all face those challenges that are harder than we can bear, and they go on longer than we can bear, and it seems like no one in this world sees or cares or understands what we are going through. Our hopes and our dreams are crashing again and again against a seemingly immovable surface. It may not happen as soon as we would have liked, and it may not happen in the way that we might have imagined, we may lose more than we feared was possible, but if we keep knocking then eventually it will be opened to us. God loves us neither more nor less whether He simply gives us the answer, or asks for us to seek until we find it, or allows us the opportunity to waste and wear out our lives waiting on the Lord, knocking and knocking until He opens that door. The commandment to Love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our might, all our mind, and all our strength is not hyperbole. God requires of us everything we have, more than we think we possess or could possibly give, but no matter how exquisite, no matter how hard to bear, no matter how heavy our burdens may be, God has prepared for us a far weightier crown of glory. Knocking on that door will be the hardest thing we do, but what lies on the other side is far greater and more wonderful than we could possibly imagine.