“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be open.” Matthew 7:7
What does it mean to “seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened?” A lot of us will find ourselves seeking but after an amount of time, we give up our search. When the door we’ve been knocking on is not opened after an amount of time waiting, we leave. We become frustrated and discouraged when the seeking and knocking does not produce the results we want in a timely fashion. We make the decision to walk-away from our searches and pursuits using our own understanding of how we should spend our time.
An article deadline is fast approaching when we still have not found the information we need and our sources are not responded. We are ready to let the editor know we cannot follow-through on our commitment. Our novel outline stalls when our writing partner kindly let’s us know of a flaw in our research. We start to loose faith in our writing and are ready to hit delete on the project. After months of waiting for responses from our queries, we start to box up the pages of our memoir wondering if our children might read it when we are gone. We’ve just written our 200th blog post to just a handful of readers and wonder if it is time to focus our writings elsewhere. Why seek out a blog audience when the numbers are not rising? Not a word has been written for that devotional we have been thinking about for many, many years as there is always something else to do that closes the door on time to spend writing.
When Jesus taught about asking, seeking and knocking, He did not advise to give-up after a certain amount of time. Instead, He tells us to pursue God with our whole heart. This whole-hearted pursuit to know God takes faith, focus and follow-through. We are never to give-up our efforts to seek Him and we are promised we will find Him. During those challenging times of our writing life, instead of falling on our own understanding of time and productivity that can lead us to discouragement and even abandoning our projects, may we remember to place God above all our pursuits. We can ask Him for knowledge, patience, faith, love, wisdom and understanding.
Take heart! God’s timetable is different than ours! His goodness everlasting!
Your goodness continues forever, and your teachings are true. I have had troubles and misery, but I love your commands. Your rules are always good. Help me to understand so I can live. Psalm 142-144
You can find more of Lynn's writing on faith at Keep It Real.
I think you have expressed what many, many writers feel. thank you for your openness and honesty. Most important, the fact that it's all about God's timing is the real truth when we feel discouraged. God bless.
ReplyDeleteYes, God's truth is always comforting and eliminates discouragement. Thanks Tracy!
DeleteHi Lynn. Thank you for the reminder in your message. As I read your words I see, "asking, seeking and knocking..." does not add up to quitting. This is good and edifying for us. If it was not so, I would have quit long ago.
ReplyDeleteSo true Alan! The math does not add up to quitting, ever!
DeleteThank you, Lynn, for your scripture-based reminders about asking, seeking and knocking. If we could make seeking God a full-time, whole-hearted endeavour, . . . "all these things (that we pray for, like our writing focus, our unfinished projects, our time management . . . ,) will be given to (us) as well.” As you say, "This whole-hearted pursuit to know God takes faith, focus and follow-through,” but the strange part is that we may be making the search for God more difficult than it really is. We can call to him while he is still near. God doesn’t play hide and seek on us.
ReplyDeleteSuch wise words Sharon! No, God does not play hide and seek. He is always in our vision when we turn toward Him.
DeleteThank you Lynn, for this precious encouragement. Even as God continues to bring me to places of slow, HIS timing is never wrong. I love your statement here so much: "Take heart! God’s timetable is different than ours! His goodness everlasting!" Amen.
ReplyDeleteYes and Amen!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your sensitive blog, Lynn. Your questions about wondering whether to quit resonated with me, as I've wondered about that more than once. However, you encouraged us to "ask, seek and knock"--and keep on asking and seeking and knocking. And "may we remember to place God above all our pursuits."
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Lynn. This is both comforting and encouraging. What a relief to remember God's timing is perfect and His goodness never ends.
ReplyDeleteBlessings ~ Wendy Mac
Thanks, Lynn. Such an encouragement to always seek God's guidance. Sometimes being stuck just means He is trying to get our attention to turn another direction. It brought to my mine Balaam's donkey and the angel from Numbers 22.
ReplyDelete