Seek, and ye shall find

God did not say ‘please’

by R. Douglass  Mahaffey

In Luke 19:11, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you,” Jesus is making an imperative statement, not a request. The verse is as much a command as “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Do you know why the average person walks around this world sulking? They (we) grieve the spirit of God. God is not some storm trooper, sitting at the ready to strike down anyone who gets out of line. He truly is heartbroken when we step out of His will. He wants so much to bless us with a life that is richer than anything that the currency of this world can afford. Why? So that He is glorified. 

A father dotes on his children from the time that they are babies, until they are young adolescents. Ever wonder why? It is so the child will know that they can turn to their father for whatever their needs are; and some of their desires, as long as their desires aren’t based on self-centered ambition. The father wants his child to be comfortable in turning to him for help.

When the child grows older and pride takes over, it is harder for the child to repeatedly turn to him when they find themselves in the same scrape over and over. It is possible that the child knows that a lecture of chastisement is coming, and they want to avoid the embarrassment. They would rather risk losing their lights, water, insurance on a car, or worse yet, their home, to keep from the embarrassment of having to turn to daddy again. 

Let this article submit to its readers a little secret. That is exactly what God put that daddy in their lives to do. Not necessarily bail them out every time that they are irresponsible with their money, but to help them to see that they have a choice in the way they perform their stewardship as a child of God. If it involves a lecture, then that might be what is needed to shake some sense in the child.. (Of course, I am talking about adult offspring here, but to moms and dads, they are still that child they have raised from an infant. 

God is no different. When we don’t turn to Him for help inn times of need or distress, the Bible says we grieve the Holy Spirit, by which God provides us with all we need. Jesus told His disciples, “Consider the lilies of the field. They neither reap, nor sow, yet God takes care of their daily needs. Are you any less than they are? No.”

By taking matters into our own hands and not turning to God for our “daily bread,” we open ourselves up to all kinds of possibilities for evil to come upon us. It really is better to seek God’s will, knock, when it is time to come before the Father for help, and ask Him for it, not in vain glory, or self-centered ambitions, but for the glory of the Lord to be seen by others in our lives.

R. Douglass Maahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.