ASK, SEEK, KNOCK
Matthew 7:7-8 is one of my favorite verses. However, it's one of many verses that isn't quite specific in terms of timing.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8
This verse, although being one of my favorites, had me questioning God. I would literally ask him questions because It felt as if his words weren't accurate.
Lord, I'm asking you, I'm seeking you, and I'm constantly knocking at your door. But why aren't you answering? Why can't I find you? Why haven't you opened up the door for me?
Now my questions shifted from "Why" to "How" and "Where" because nothing worked just yet.
How many times per day must I ask Lord? How should I seek you? At this point, WHERE is the door for me to knock on? I must've been asking wrong, seeking wrong, and knocking at the wrong door.
Still Nothing....so I shifted my questions from "How" and "Where" to "When".
When will you answer me Lord? When will you show up for me Lord? When Will You Open the door for me?
And God said, "When the time is right I the Lord Will make it happen"
Then ofc, I had to ask, "when is the right time, Lord? Because I need you NOW, and I need it to happen NOW, I'm in need NOW. If not now, then when Lord?
So, he hit me with "Your timing and my timing are not the same"
I then asked, "What do you mean by that Lord?"
He responded. "a day for me is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day"
It wasn't clicking at first, so I said, "Lord I’m going to need you to break it down for me....
He responded, A thousand years is actually 1 day for me, so technically I respond quicker than you think.
So, I was like, "very funny God, but I'm talking about your timing in my short lifespan when I ask, seek, and knock.
He finally said, "Unlike your timing, my timing is perfect. Your timing rushes, you want it now, but you are not ready. You want this specific thing, but I have something bigger for you. Why do you want to settle for less? Have you forgotten that I created you and know the plans I have for you?
I was silenced... But I finally understood.
When we understand God's timing, we wait differently trusting in the one who created us.
That's all it takes, TRUST! Once you trust God's plans for you and his words, then your waiting season will feel like seconds rather than years.
This is where the Waiting Season comes in.....
Have you ever asked God for something, but then had to wait a longgg time for an answer? Sometimes It feels as if God isn’t listening, but truth is, HE IS.
10 out of 10 times, God heard you the 1st time you prayed about that specific thing, and he answers at the timing that he knows is perfect.
Doubting is your worse enemy, If you get discouraged by God’s timing, and start to doubt then you'll just cause a longer delay with what you asked God for. When we doubt if God really heard our prayers or if he'll answer, we allow the thoughts of giving up to creep in.
Instead of Giving Up, you just gotta keep ASKing, SEEKing, and KNOCKing..
The waiting season can be very tiring, but that waiting allows us to trust in God's Timing and not ours. We should use the waiting season to strengthen our faith and reliance on Him. Sometimes we aren't ready for what we prayed for nor the blessings that God has in store for us.
Truth be told, the enemy knows that God doesn't rush, he builds. So, his only strategy is to incite impatience in our hearts so that we don't wait to be built by God. Impatience then leads to us finding another quick solution leading us to settle for less, when God could've given us more. Don’t settle for less just cause you're tired of waiting on God!
God: I’ll give you more than you asked for if you trust in my timing.
I would constantly ask, seek, knock, but I wasn't taking the time to be still, trust, and have faith. Not the faith of someone who asks a genie to grant a wish. God is not a genie. Genies don't warn you about what you ask for, you ask and receive it right away then pay the consequences later on. That sounds a whole lot like how the devil works when people ask him for things, don't it?
But with God, when you ask him for something, he makes sure you're ready for what you prayed for. And most of the time we are not ready for what we prayed for. So, instead of doubting in your waiting season, be still and have peace that transcends all understanding. Even when being at peace makes no sense and when you clearly need a response right away from God.
DON'T GIVE UP!
One mistake we tend to do in our waiting season is quitting and giving up. While you’re waiting you have got to keep working. Take Noah for example, He spent 120 years building that Ark, and not once did he give up. He trusted God, worked hard and in the end his family were safe from the storm.
When it comes to us, we must keep going even when it may seem like the clock is moving slow. I know it’s hard working while you're waiting but have faith and trust that you're waiting, and hard work will pay off in the end. When God see's you trying, he will handle the rest.
One thing I've noticed is that God responds so much quicker when we just get out the way, have faith and let him do his thing in our life.
The time runs faster when you're not constantly checking the clock.
Checking the time at school and at work didn't make the time go by faster. Time speeds when u're busy. So be busy having faith and working hard instead of doubting.
You're Not The Only One..
Abraham and Sarah Waited 25 years for a child and mind you he was 100 yrs. old when he finally had Issac.
“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.” Genesis 21:1-3 KJV
Daniel waited on the Lord and had faith even after being thrown into the Lion's den.
“Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.” Daniel 6:23 KJV
Hannah Waited A long time for God to Answer her prayer of Conceiving a Child.
“Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.” 1 Samuel 1:20 KJV
Jacob waited and worked for 14 years to marry Rachel.
“And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.” Genesis 29:30 KJV
That's just to name a few!
One of the most important thing we learn from those stories, is to trust in God's Timing. Whether it's for a Relationship, a Child, A Job, A Miracle, A Solution, A Business, A Career, we ought to trust In God's Perfect Timing.
Don't try to rush anything to fit "your" timing. If anything, change your mindset of "I can't do this waiting game anymore, let me find my own way" to "I prayed about this, now i just have to wait on my father's timing because he always knows when the time is right. It's very easy to lose hope but keep holding on to God and his promises luv. He has never and will never fail you.
Before we end this off, I want you to think of a time when you realized why God had you wait. That right there was God's Perfect Timing!
Always remember: “When the time is right, I the Lord will make it happen."
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Luv, Daisy