Taking Action

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7

We should be a people of action. Nothing happens until we do something. This verse speaks of taking action. We live in a time when it is common for people to expect something to happen without them doing anything. Our relationship with the Lord cannot be one of waiting for Him to do something. There is a difference between waiting on the Lord and waiting for the Lord. There indeed is a time to wait, and a time to take action. For the most part, we tend to wait for the Lord to do something when He has already let us know that there is something for us to do.

For example...... if you are looking for a job and you simply pray that God will find you a job; without filling out applications, making return calls, visiting job sites in person, and getting yourself out there..... what are you expecting God to do? I can pray to God to teach me His Word, but if I will not read, I won't get very far, will I? The same is true at many junctures of life.

We want to receive without asking. We want to open the mail and get a check, or win the lottery. (What could be done to further the Kingdom with all the money that has been wasted on lotteries? Far more that what has been done by people who have won them.) When I ask, God can only give me what I need or should receive. Do you ask Him? Or, do you fear that your request is so inappropriate that you wouldn't dare? I know for me, I just want things to happen without me having to ask. Not just God either, I expect others to know what I want, or need. If God knows and He wants me to ask, shouldn't I ask those who don't know?

We want to find what we are looking for without seeking, too. Seeking takes time, and effort, and energy. It is more than opening our eyes. It is the due diligence of taking the time, effort and energy to really; intensely search for what it is we are looking for. I remember as a kid when I could not find something that my Dad would want me to find, and after half-heartedly looking, I would go back to him and tell him it wasn't to be found. Invariably he would take the time, energy, and effort; to go with me and help me focus, and think and actually seek what I was looking for. This improved my capability to find things immensely. So many times when I am seeking something, if I will just breathe deep, and get a fresh start looking, I can find it with a second or third try.

Knocking is even harder. Asking and seeking are easier, because I don't have to make as much of an effort, or take as much time, or expend as much energy. Knocking takes risk. Sure if we ask; the answer may be no, or wait, and if we seek, the Lord may show us what we really need to find instead of what we think or feel we need. But when we knock, it is the act of faith. It is like the salesman making the cold call. I have always had compassion for door-to-door salesmen. Not an easy job. Almost all successful people have had a lot of closed and unopened doors in their lives.

Asking, Seeking and Knocking are part of maturing spiritually. I should be asking the Lord more, and seeking Him more. When I do, my knocking is so much more productive. So, today I ask Him if He will give me the insight and wisdom to Pastor Grace Harbor Ministries. I am seeking His will for us, and we desire to do what He would have us do. I am knocking on the door to our future, together, so we can be opened up to everything He has for us. Let us individually and corporately keep asking, seeking and knocking. Nothing is going to just happen until we act in faith.

Acting in faith,
Pastor Fred

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