ASKING AND EXPECTING
You do not have, because you do not ask. James 4:2, R.S.V.
One of the most painful experiences in life is to have at your disposal the very thing needed by a loved one who does not seek it from you. Worse still is to be rejected when you freely offer the item or service. Either way, you hurt more for this person, knowing that they will go without, than you do for yourself.
God longs for us to ask Him for all that we need and desire. In the most gentlemanly manner He makes known to us that He is well able to satisfy us entirely. When we do not ask, He reminds us with divine sorrow that we do not have simply because we have not asked.
Do we play mental games with ourselves? Have we come to feel that God's invitation is more for the testing of our souls than for the tangible answers available? Do we feel a kind of spiritual high in "having faith" while "waiting on the Lord," while not really expecting an answer? This kind of experience makes testing in and of itself of more value than the individual being tested. Such concepts, whether harbored openly or only in the secret places of a doubting heart, cast an unhealthy shadow upon our heavenly Father.
Should we expect answers? Why would our reasonable God play games with us? He is very straightforward. The more you know God, the more likely it is that your requests will be in harmony with His wisdom. And the more you can be sure that reality will meet expectation. Believing that God will give what you ask can make you feel vulnerable. It is only when you learn that He delights in giving us tangible answers can such feelings be replaced by joyous anticipation.
There is no merit in the act of believing. Our hope lies solely in the One in whom we believe. And asking without any real hope of receiving is to mock the One to whom our requests are made. Not to ask at all is perhaps the strongest statement that we can make about our doubt about God's goodness and His willingness to deal with us realistically
Perhaps God wants us to test Him more than He desires to test us. And in testing God, we will find that He is absolutely reliable and wonderfully practical.
You do not have, because you do not ask. James 4:2, R.S.V.
One of the most painful experiences in life is to have at your disposal the very thing needed by a loved one who does not seek it from you. Worse still is to be rejected when you freely offer the item or service. Either way, you hurt more for this person, knowing that they will go without, than you do for yourself.
God longs for us to ask Him for all that we need and desire. In the most gentlemanly manner He makes known to us that He is well able to satisfy us entirely. When we do not ask, He reminds us with divine sorrow that we do not have simply because we have not asked.
Do we play mental games with ourselves? Have we come to feel that God's invitation is more for the testing of our souls than for the tangible answers available? Do we feel a kind of spiritual high in "having faith" while "waiting on the Lord," while not really expecting an answer? This kind of experience makes testing in and of itself of more value than the individual being tested. Such concepts, whether harbored openly or only in the secret places of a doubting heart, cast an unhealthy shadow upon our heavenly Father.
Should we expect answers? Why would our reasonable God play games with us? He is very straightforward. The more you know God, the more likely it is that your requests will be in harmony with His wisdom. And the more you can be sure that reality will meet expectation. Believing that God will give what you ask can make you feel vulnerable. It is only when you learn that He delights in giving us tangible answers can such feelings be replaced by joyous anticipation.
There is no merit in the act of believing. Our hope lies solely in the One in whom we believe. And asking without any real hope of receiving is to mock the One to whom our requests are made. Not to ask at all is perhaps the strongest statement that we can make about our doubt about God's goodness and His willingness to deal with us realistically
Perhaps God wants us to test Him more than He desires to test us. And in testing God, we will find that He is absolutely reliable and wonderfully practical.
RSS Feed
