Asking, Seeking and Knocking

Bulletin

John A McKee
08/18/19 - Providence

Hopelessness is one of the most devastating conditions a person can endure. Some folks suffer through the most difficult of times and come out on the other side stronger. Others are destroyed by much less. I believe hope makes all the difference.

Jesus made an important promise to children of God in His sermon on the mount as recorded in Matthew 7:7 and confidence in His promise is the ultimate source of hope. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” At times in our lives we all face need and ignorance and exclusion, but Jesus is offering blessings and enlightenment and acceptance to those humble enough to ask.

Needs. We all need food, clothing and shelter. Illness and grief and loss are part of the human condition. We do what we can to provide for our families but, frankly, there are a lot of factors that are beyond our control. Some worry themselves into an early grave because they insist on facing the challenges of life on their own. Jesus offers the key to the hope-filled life in Matthew 6:33: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Ignorance. “Seek and you will find.” Jesus is talking to the truth-seekers of the world. The concept of “my truth” or “your truth” is absolute nonsense. In every walk of life, there are things that are true and other things that are false and how we feel about a particular issue is irrelevant. The existence of absolute truth is especially applicable to those things revealed to us from the mind of God. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) and any who try to define righteousness absent God’s word are blind leaders of the blind (Matthew 15:14). The truth-seeker recognizes that it is not in man to direct his own steps (Jeremiah 10:23). God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and God in His providence will help them succeed.

Closed Doors. Certainly, there are doors of economic opportunity that can contribute to providing for our physical needs, but I don’t believe that is the emphasis of “knock and it will be opened to you.” In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable of ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom to come so they could enter the marriage feast. When the groom finally arrived, five found that their lamps had burned out and they were out of oil. They rushed to buy more but when they returned, it was too late. All their door knocking was to no avail. Entrance into the kingdom of God is the most critical access imaginable. But today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Jesus is offering the hope-filled life to the person willing to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness. Such a person need only ask, seek and knock with confidence that God will always do what is best for them. That is true peace of mind.