DEVOTIONAL STORIES
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If we spend much time watching, listening to, or reading about what goes on in the world around us, it doesn't take long to realize that things are not always as they seem. Whether it is by design or not, we are not always privy to all the details, and it can be a confusing mess to try and straighten it all out so we can know what to believe. When it is all said and done, we often resort to wishing that we could just know the truth. Thankfully, we don't have to remain confused. And we certainly don't have to just wish. We can simply ask, and we are encouraged often in God's Word to do that very thing. "Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other" (Deuteronomy 4:32a). "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). And one of my very favorites: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5). The original words for ask are the Hebrew (Old Testament) sha'al, pronounced shä·al', and the Greek (New Testament) aiteō, pronounced ī-te'-ō. Both words mean to ask or beg, with additional meanings of inquiring, calling for, craving, and desiring. Did you notice that one of the definitions means "to beg"? That would almost seem to make us believe that God won't answer until we are groveling, but it is actually showing us the different levels of urgency on the part of the one asking. That's us. So, do we long for wisdom so deeply that the urgency in our request would be akin to begging? Do we really want God to reveal what is going on in us and around us, or are we happy to go with the flow and with our feelings—and maybe even with the crowd?  We don't have to struggle with knowing and understanding the things of our past, present, or future. We don't have to walk around confused and torn between multiple sides of the same tale. And we certainly don't have to beg. As God's kids, we have the One true, believable Source. He is Trustworthy. He is Faithful. He is our Loving Father, and He is gentle with the one who will come to Him. Finding no fault, He is generous with wisdom and is more than willing to give it. And He tells us all we have to do is ask. ©2017 Wendi Miller Find Source Information Additional Source Information: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G154&t=NIV https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7592&t=NIV KEEP READINGComments are closed.
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