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." (Matthew 7: 7-8) NKJV
If you've not done so, please take a few minutes and read the previous two articles on "WHY Do You Ask, Seek, Knock?" and then on the first part on "ASKING". They will get you caught up on this discussion that, regardless of what you do or don't believe, STILL have application in your life for today.
As a quick preview, the strength of your "why" will greatly determine the strength of your search, or your "SEEKING". If, whatever it is that you decided to "ASK" for/about is not that big of a deal to you then, guess what? The effort that you put into searching and/or SEEKING for that will also not be that big of a deal and, as a result, nothing will happen. You can't just ASK and wait for the answer to fall into your lap!
Remember, "Opportunity Does NOT Always Knock!"
One of the main things that I discuss in the podcast version of this particular article is that, when you begin to actually take action and search and/or seek, YOU CANNOT SEEK WITH PREDETERMINED IDEAS OF WHAT THE ANSWER WILL BE FOR WHICH YOU SEEK.
You can't put "guidelines" or "parameters" on that search. If you do, you are not truly SEEKING. You are simply limiting yourself to hopefully finding something that will already fit what you have decided that you actually need at this point.
I share in the podcast (see links for iTunes as well as the RSS feed below) a TRUE STORY from my own life where I was "asking" and "seeking" a new church to work with/for a number of years back but, at the same time, I had put some specific parameters on where I was willing to look. And, for me at that time in my life, I had actually put the stipulation on my search of, "O.k. God, please lead me to my next location to work in youth ministry BUT...there needs to be a lake nearby!". I literally would get out a map and see if there was a lake nearby if I got a call from a church that wanted to interview me for the job. Be sure to listen to the podcast to find out how this turned out. Hint: As long as I kept that closed-minded approach to my "search" (it wasn't really a true search, was it?) things did not turn out as I had hoped.
Remember what I said earlier about the strength of your "WHY" determining the strength of your search or SEEKING. Another way to word that would be, how VALUABLE is that for which you seek? Take a look at another scripture where Jesus discusses such thoughts...
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Matthew 13: 44-46)
So, to sum this all up, IF YOU TRULY SEEK TO FIND "THE ANSWER"...
1. Do not put parameters or limitations for that which you seek
2. Remove the "blinders" that would keep you from truly seeing that "open door" that might appear
In the next podcast and article we will talk about "KNOCKING" in the process of "ASKING, SEEKING, KNOCKING". Think about this between now and then: If you decide to "knock" on a particular "door", WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED THAT YOU NEED TO KNOCK ON THAT PARTICULAR DOOR?
I'd love to get your feedback about this series and, maybe even, this particular article. Yes, you can do so by leaving a comment here but, would you do me a favor and go over to my Facebook page to do so? I'd really appreciate that!
Until next time, remember, YOU'RE HERE FOR A REASON and, whatever you do, always be sure to...
"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"
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