Read: Matthew 7:7-11
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
Understand:
- What are the promises God has made in this verse?
Listen: One of the hardest things for me to overcome is the fear of failure. This isn’t really brought on by anyone but myself. I judge myself harshly and the expectations I set for myself have often been so unrealistic that I wonder how I could expect to possibly fulfill them. And, yet, I find that this fear of failure has an effect on me that is so strong that I often want to give up simply because I might not succeed. Or worse yet, I don’t even start something because I might not succeed.
In our last devotion, I mentioned a specific sermon that Pastor Charles Stanley was giving and one of his topics was on God’s faithfulness. We are to rely on God’s faithfulness and not on ourselves. This can apply to so many areas of our life but one area he focused on was how, when we give up on something God has called us to do, we suffer from what is called a “courage collapse.” Pastor Stanley made the point that we need to remember that when “God tells [us] to do something, He’s already got it done.” It’s just a matter of our obedience in following through with it. If we could learn to rely on God’s promises and His resources, instead of thinking of merely ourselves, things can be placed in a much better perspective. We are calling on the God of our universe to do something for us and scripture tells us that His promises never fail. What’s more important is realizing what His promises are! We have Matthew 7:7-11 for our scripture today that tells us to ask, seek, and knock with promises attached to that. There are numerous scriptures to support this: Mark 11:24; Matthew 21:22; John 15:7; John 14:13-14; John 16:24; and Luke 11:9. These are just a few of the scriptures verses that show us God’s faithfulness to our requests.
How can we take care of the problem of a courage collapse, as Pastor Stanley put it? Look at the things he mentioned to help you:
- Be sure to surround yourself with positivity and not allow people around you to bring you down or convince you of something that goes against scripture.
- Look at all God has done for you in your past. You can see His faithfulness in your life if you just stop and think about it.
- Put God at the center of every decision you make. Focus on what God would want and what will bring Him glory through your life.
- Know that if God says He is going to do something, He has “the power and the resources to do it.”
I’m still working on this in my life but I want to encourage you to keep trying too. I can’t give up! I want to please God in every aspect of my life and not allow my fear of failure to imprison me. I’m still praying for strength and God is still faithful. 2 Timothy 2:13 explains that even when we are faithless, God remains faithful. We might have a hiccup in our faith when we think we are relying on ourselves for something. But, that’s just it: we aren’t relying on ourselves! We are relying on God! Remember who you are seeking. Remember to whom you have a made request because “. . . He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23)
Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, help us when we look to ourselves to accomplish something when we should be looking to You. Help us remember Your promises and know that You only intend good for those who love You. Help us to hold fast to our faith because You have never failed us. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
Majacka Literary Creations 