More than Skin Deep
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him. Matthew 7:11
Have you grown afraid to ask the Lord for things? Perhaps what you received behind the open-door last time wasn’t quite what you were expecting. Leaving you disappointed and fearful of what may come if you continue asking. Or maybe you asked in faith that one time and never received an answer. Leaving you feeling forgotten and abandoned, wondering if you should ever ask again?
Behind every seeking heart is the Father’s open hand ready to give all good things from His heavenly storehouses. The difference between those who receive and those who lack is simply asking.
It’s a fact
These red-letter words were not open ended for us to question or doubt what we may receive when we ask. You can trust that His plans for you are good even if it may not be what you were expecting. He always provides, always sustains and always remains faithful to his beloved.
As a loving Father you can trust that He knows what you need before you ask Him. Just as God has His hand open ready to give to you, so you must be open in heart and mind to receive whatever thing He wants to give you.
“No person has ever sought something from God with their whole heart and was left empty. ”
Sometimes in order to understand what we receive from the Lord, we must look at our own motives. He knows our heart and exactly what we need. He may be withholding your exact request not because it’s not good but because it’s not best. Only in understanding His heart can we begin to see the true goodness of His gifts.
To believe that God gives good things we must believe in and know who He is. He is our Good Father whose name is Love, who hears our every cry and bottles every tear for safe keeping. He knows every hair on your head and every breath you breathe before you even take it. Lovingly, He look on you as His dear child, singing over you in love. Even the smallest things concerning you do not go unnoticed by your heavenly Father.
His nature
No person has ever sought something from God with their whole heart and was left empty. While His blessings may not always occur in the form we hope for, we can expect greater things to come if we ask and trust His nature.
Take, for instance, the women at the well. Her ordinary trip to the well ended in an extraordinary encounter. While she anticipated drawing water for her daily life, to her surprise, she walked away with the living water that will never run dry. Jesus gave her beyond what she expected – a relationship with the Lord!
When we look at Mary and Martha, they appear to do the right thing – they came to Jesus and asked Him to heal their brother. Their request was met with delay and eventual sorrow and disappointment. Why was He late? Didn’t He care about His friends? Surely, He could have done something from afar. However, what first looked like rejection and abandonment, actually became a stage set for God to show off His greatest miracle – resurrection.
More than skin deep
At the end of the day, it isn’t about us or what we think we might need – it’s about God, who He is and what He is doing in and for us that is greater than what we ask. He did a work in these people that will last a lifetime, not because they received what they asked, but because they were willing to receive what God had in store for them.
Sometimes we may only see the physical need in front of us, but God sees more than skin deep. However, by asking God for what we see, we open ourselves to receive beyond what is seen with our eyes. An inner healing and restoration of what the heart and soul need more than what this life can offer.
“Asking reminds us where our help comes from...It’s an invitation to go deeper and cultivate a more meaningful relationship between you and your Creator. ”
An invitation for more
Many of us may stop asking God for things because we simply just expect Him to give us what we need. I myself have been guilty of this a time or two. While this may resemble faith, you are missing out on the greatest treasure of all – fellowship with the Father.
God actually wants us to ask! While we do need faith to receive, asking is part of the faith process. He wants you to participate in the giving and receiving as more than the receiver, but one who relies on Him. Asking reminds us where our help comes from, where every good and perfect gift we receive flows out of. It’s an invitation to go deeper and cultivate a more meaningful relationship between you and your Creator.
The greatest faith Jesus saw on earth was a centurion whose servant was sick. While He expected Jesus to heal no questions asked, he also came a distance to ask Him personally. In that asking, he not only met the Savior of the World, but he also got to speak to Him, to converse with the one who created the ground beneath his feet. He got to behold Christ in the flesh and know Him personally. He even received more than he requested, a compliment from the Master.
Next time you pray, don’t be afraid to come before Him and ask. Ask Him whatever is on your heart! In doing so, you are accepting an invitation for deeper intimacy with the Savior. He wants to show you things beyond what you expect. Ask him to give you a willing heart, open to receive whatever good thing that may be.