Take hold of His promises
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
So, I noticed something recently, and it’s something I’m sure I have noticed before. However, it is a bit more obvious to me now or just a strong reminder. I had something very heavy on my heart, so I asked God for help with it. It was something that was going to happen that day. Every time I thought of it while I was at work, instead of worrying about it, I would thank God that He was working on it and it was going to all work out, and then it did! Glory to God! The next day, I had some stuff going on that I needed to do after work and I had hoped it would all work out, but I really wasn’t talking to or committing it to God or holding on to Him and believing He was going to fit it all in. Well, I didn’t get done working in time and it just didn’t work out. As I was thinking about it later on I remembered that I was not so intent the second day, but how faithful God was when I was trusting Him with thankfulness instead of taking every opportunity to worry about the situation. Today’s verse is a promise from Jesus that if you ask, He will give. It was in my believing this promise and then showing I believed it by thanking Him for it, that He worked it all out. When I don’t keep up my faith and believe His promises, I am letting my hope slip and I have no anchor to attach my faith to. I am just kind of coasting through life.
Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” It says don’t worry about anything but pray, then with thanksgiving you believe that God is taking care of it. Don’t forget the thanksgiving part. You can be thankful for what God has already done in your life, or you can be thankful for what He is doing right now. You can even be thankful for what He is going to do going forward. In my particular case, I had asked God in the morning to take care of a situation and then every time I thought of it again, I said, “Thank you, Father, for handling this situation and working out all the details.” Then I would think about all the times He came through for me in the past and thanked Him for that, and all the things He has brought me through. Most of them so much bigger than what I was asking Him for right now.
My point? That is how I stayed in faith. By knowing that He heard my prayer, trusting that He will keep the promises He made in His Word, showing I believe Him by thanking Him for what He’s about to do, and now He is working it all out. I showed I believed it by thanking Him instead of asking Him over and over again or begging Him saying: “Please, please, please!”
Today, I want to encourage you to hold on to God in faith for the things you are believing He is working on. Instead of asking Him repeatedly, start thanking Him and believe He is working on it and bringing it all together. Find a promise in His Word to speak every time you are tempted to worry about the situation. As you begin to thank Him for all He is doing, you will notice the peace of God coming because you know He hears you when you pray. Any doubt and worry will fade away because even though you don’t see the answer yet, you know He is on the job and will never let you down.
Today’s scripture reading: Matthew 7:7-12
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If you then, being 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!
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.