“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; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV)
God gives us many astounding promises in Scripture because He desires for our joy to be full and complete in Him. Yet oftentimes our prayers are answered with packages not of our choosing, Amen? Just observe our Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane when he pleaded for a “Yes” but got a “No” – praise Him! His “No” was for a far greater “Yes”. By God’s “No” to His Son, Jesus was bringing many men to glory – that would include you and me as well. I am sure at the answer to His pleadings Jesus “felt” more like He received a snake rather than a fish, Amen? Yet, He was resolved to follow His Father for the fullness of joy set before Him of bringing many men to glory. Our being likewise resolved is “protos” (foremost, above all) in our walks with the Lord. We can know that we know that we know that “no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless” (Psalms 84:11B). We must trust the Father’s heart and not be discouraged or dismayed with what we may receive from His Hand. Feelings and human reasoning can blind us. Our world watches and what we do matters.
Sometimes our answers are breath-takingly devastating and we can find ourselves reeling from what we have received from His gracious hand of mercy. These “gifts of righteousness” He bestows give us a greater capacity for faith and love and joy – a fullness of these precious gifts which are never automatic in a life – we grow up in them as we grow up in Him. It is the process of sanctification – becoming more and more like Jesus. All believers are in that process or we would be home with the Lord – not here. No one alive has “got it”, so to speak – trust me. God often uses His instrument of pain and discouragement to produce this sanctifying work in His children. His greatest desire is for us to find our all in Him. He wants us to be full of joy and in Him and Him alone is fullness of joy found. And often we must learn this lesson by having things taken away to find our all in Him. We are trained by discipline therefore we are never to shun it as the results are unearthly in their nature. Trust His heart not your perceptions, feelings or earthly reason.
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:10-11 (NIV)