Devotionals

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One matter I've been wrestling with lately relates to a series of parables Jesus told that indicate the virtue of persistence and boldness in asking for things. The details of the parables are somewhat vague to me, but two pop up in my mind frequently these days. One has to do with the persistent widow who kept pestering a judge and the other has to do with a man who called on someone late at night. The one called upon found the timing of the other man's call irritating, yet he gave the man what he asked for simply because of the man's boldness in asking.

Part of the struggle in my mind has to do with truly accepting the bounty God has in store for those whom he loves. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would be filled with all the fullness of God, an image all the more striking given the surrounding description of what the fullness of God really means. James contended that our lack of things we want causes strife among us. Why don't we have? Because we don't ask, and when we do we ask for the wrong motives. How much does God have in store for us yet we don't receive because we don't ask? It may not be millions of dollars, for if you do ask for that you may not be asking out of the correct motives, yet what does he have in store for us and why don't we ask for it?

Well, I know part of the reason why I hesitate to ask for things of other people. I don't ask because I worry that it will be inconvenient to them, or prove a burden to them. While there is some justification to being cautious about asking too much of people, especially when you know they have issues with saying 'no', often the hesitation to ask for help and 'not be a burden' to people disguises pride. I've seen it very strongly in myself and it's one barricade in my heart that God has been breaking down. Most particularly, he's been doing it through my wife's parents who help us out despite the tremendous hardships it causes them. Accepting such help with a glad heart has not been easy.

Which brings me to another point: when we receive gifts, do we do so with a glad heart? Or, do we feel conflicted, worrying that the gift is really too much. One characteristic of children that proves especially enlightening in this regard has to do with the joy they feel at receiving gifts. Often, they don't worry about whether it costs the giver too much, but squeal for joy at the gift they have received. Do we do the same about the gifts the Lord has given us and has waiting for us? In my heart, that's too often not the case, and much of that has to do with pride. It takes great humility to accept a gift, especially when you believe that the process of giving the gift will prove costly to the giver.

Accepting gifts and asking for aid extends to more than asking and receiving of God, though. Even when we can humbly and with great joy accept gifts from God, doing the same with other people often proves much more difficult. I believe that hinders us from asking others for help and thereby hinders our growth. We're intended to serve and love one another, but if we hesitate to ask help of others and receive that help grudgingly, we put a barricade in the way of expressing that service and love. How can we show our love to others when no one wants to receive that love for fear it's 'too much of a burden'? Let us not commit the mistake Peter made in hesitating to have Jesus wash his feet, but both serve and be served with glad hearts, rejoicing over the love we're receiving from others.

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