Do Not Be Discouraged or Impatient

In the morning, I write. I write for a few reasons. Writing is a way that I pray. Most of the time my writing begins with thanksgiving. I try to offer thanks for 3 things each day. This varies from one to many, but my aim is for 3 things. I have been thankful for the wonderful love of God and for a pain in my back that didn’t seem to have an end, for fresh coffee and for crazy Ohio humidity.

I write to get my thoughts to line up so I can see them. I write to ask and find answers to questions.

Writing is very beneficial for me.

This morning I was thinking of a project as I was writing and at the moment it was being very frustrating. As I was writing the questions only seemed to pile up higher and no answers were on the ever-rising horizon.

Then I remembered something Jesus said and I began to understand where the answer always lies. In Matthew 7:7 & 8, Jesus says,

`Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you; for every one who is asking doth receive, and he who is seeking doth find, and to him who is knocking it shall be opened.

This is a little different translation from what we might be used to seeing but it is suppose to be a literal translation from the original language. It got my attention because of the second verse that begins with, “for every one…”.

I am first of all drawn to the universal nature of the promise. Jesus says everyone. This is a promise with a condition (most promises are). But no one is disqualified if they fulfill the conditions.

Then I am surprised and encouraged by the active nature of the qualifications; be asking, be seeking (searching) and be knocking.

I am so inclined to be someone who asks and then waits and becomes discouraged or impatient. Jesus is saying be someone who is in the process of asking until they receive, seeking until they find and knocking until the door is open.

Let’s be active.