Matt 7-7

 February 2, 2024

I’ve recently begun giving my grandkids a verse each day for a week to think about. Tonight you’re getting a week’s worth of daily reflections. This week’s verse is Matthew 7:7—“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Notice the certainty of Jesus’ promise. There is no “maybe” in it. It will be helpful however, if you read this promise in its context, which begins in chapter five. Jesus is teaching us what living his life is all about, and here’s a hint: It’s not about satisfying our every whim or desire. So be careful what you ask for; like a good parent, he won’t give you what isn’t good for you. Ask for what will help you become the better person he describes in his teaching

There is a progression of intensity here. First we ask. If the answer isn’t forthcoming, we start looking. Receiving from God is not a passive thing; if we ask, we had better be looking for the answer and not just expecting God to drop it in our laps.

What are we looking for? Where should we be looking? We often miss what God has for us because we aren’t seriously looking, or we’re looking for the wrong thing, or in the wrong places. Keep looking to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)

Here’s another verse to go along with Matthew’s. It’s from Jeremiah 29:13 ”You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.“ Here’s a guarantee: if you seriously look for God, you will find him. So when it feels like you’ve lost your way, or don’t know which way to turn, look for Jesus. He IS the Way to your heavenly Father.

When you ask and don’t get an answer, when you seek and don’t find, it’s time to start knocking. There are locked doors that God will open if we’ll just take the time and make the effort to go the additional step of knocking after we’ve asked and sought.

Earlier, I noted the increasing intensity of the words here. They also increase in proximity. You can ask from a distance; seeking brings you closer, but you can’t knock from a distance; you have to be right next to a door to knock on it. Jesus is the Door (John 10:9). He will open to us when we get close enough to knock. So stay close to Jesus!