Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”
Our Bible verse for today: “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 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “God delights in answering your prayers and in meeting your needs.”
Persevering through tough times can be especially challenging when your situation includes an important unmet need. It could be a bill you can’t pay, an illness you’re dealing with, a broken relationship which needs to be restored, a new job, etc.
The correct way to deal with such situations is of course to first bring it to the Lord in prayer. Then you must also make sure you do your part too so that you’re being part of your own solution. But then what? Once you’ve made the situation a matter of consistent and persistent prayer and you are doing all you can do to be a part of your own solution, what do you do after that?
You wait on the Lord. Patiently and in faith you wait on the Lord. You keep praying, and you keep doing your part, and you trust that in His time and in His way God will take care of you.
In Matthew 7:11, which is part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds us that God is our good and loving heavenly Father and the He delights in answering our prayers and giving us the things we need.
Don’t forget that the Sermon on the Mount also includes that wonderful passage in Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus taught that our Father in heaven is aware of every need we have and He is committed to meeting those needs. For our part we must simply “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Matthew 6:25-34 and Matthew 7:11 are part of the same lesson and they teach the same truth.
It would be wrong to underestimate God and the delight He takes in coming through for His children. It’s not greedy or selfish to ask God for the things you need. Jesus encourages us to ask God to help us and to provide for us.
The great Christian writer C.S. Lewis once wrote that our problem is not that we ask too much of God, but that we don’t ask enough. He said that he believes we are much too easily pleased and that we usually stop well short of asking for the things God would be more than happy to provide for us.
That was Jesus’ point exactly. If human parents know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more is that true of our Father in heaven? The problem isn’t that we ask too much of Him, but that we don’t ask enough.
So persevere. Ask God to be active in your situation; talk to Him about your needs; ask Him to provide for you; and also be sure you are doing your part. God delights in answering your prayers and meeting your needs.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 