Lesson Three: Ask, and it Will be Given
Devotion #2: Staying Warm
Katie Pettibone
There is a poem I thought of when I was reading this passage. It is a poem I have been thinking about a lot recently because it is about a topic I have been dealing with in my own life. It is “Nearer” by C.S. Lewis.
If you want to get warm, you must stand near the fire:
If you want to be wet, you must get into the water.
If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life,
You must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them.
I feel like there are a lot of us who love to be in control. I would plan to do this until my dad got home from his early morning route. We like having a plan for the day and for the week. It was a plan of tasks for the day, even a plan on what the bedtime routine would look like later. Being a planner is not a bad thing; however, it is hard when something interrupts those plans. When an interruption comes, you think, “I did not plan for this!” I have been there, and let me tell you, it sends me into a spiral of thoughts and emotions. I begin to think of all the “what ifs’’ and wonder,“How am I going to get through this?” It is so easy to forget that in those moments, there is someone who does have a plan and who has already taken care of it, as we see in this passage.
Matthew 7:7-11 records, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
I believe that we fall into the spiral of worries so easily because that is exactly what the enemy wants of us. The enemy wants to keep our eyes away from the Lord and to keep them on all the burdens that we face.
It is so easy to forget that God has already promised to get us through whatever we face as long as we are consistent in asking what needs to be asked. We also forget that even in good times, we should draw near to God because He is a part of those times, too.
I love this poem by C.S. Lewis because it brings to light what we need to be doing as followers of Christ. We need to surround ourselves with God. We need to be in prayer, letting God know our worries, asking Him things we need, and fully giving the control we think we have to Him (who actually has control). However, if we do not spend time with the Lord and let Him know our worries, we will not be satisfied. We will feel distant from God. If we feel distant, how are we to get any answers given to us? If you think about it, it is just like how you may feel cold and you want to be warmer. Instead of leaning toward the fire, you are too worried about being cold. You forget that the fire is right there, ready to give you the warmth you need.
I challenge you to start leaning toward the fire. Start beginning your days by spending time in the Word and in prayer. Stay near God and let Him know everything, because He loves you, and wants you to tell Him everything. Even when it is hard, let Him know that it is hard, and He will make a way. Even when you feel content, let Him know you feel content, and praise Him for it. He is waiting for you to tell Him these things. He is waiting for you because He loves you! Ask, and you shall receive.