Ask, Seek, Knock, and Call

About a month ago I began reading the Book of Job because I have never read it in its entirety, and I knew that it would teach me about this season of suffering that John and I are in, how God views it, and how we can respond and trust in Him throughout it.

The most refreshing thing so far about Job, and what I love about him, is how honest he is with God. Job was “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” (1:1); however, God allowed Satan to test him and bring hardship to his livelihood, his family, and his health. Job did not understand this, and he let God know it! Job continually questioned God, cried out to God, even asked God to take his life, but he never turned away from God. “In all of this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing” (1:22).

Job was human! He had the same thoughts, the same confusion, the same frustration, the same hopelessness that I sometimes have, and he questioned God about it. He had such an intimate relationship with God that he knew he could continually go to Him and ask Him to speak to him and help him to understand. Job continued to keep God first throughout his despair and agony.

I ordered a children’s CD last week that I am planning to give to our niece and nephews, and the CD has songs that are based on scripture verses to help children (and even adults in my case) memorize scripture. I’ve been listening to it, and as I am writing this blog two of the songs come to mind. The first one is based on Matthew 7:7-8.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Job was close enough to God to know that it was o.k. to “seek” Him out. God wanted Job to show his trust in Him by coming to Him and questioning Him instead of running away in resentment and anger.

The other song that comes to mind is based on Jeremiah 33:3.

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

The word that stands out to me every time I read this verse is “unsearchable”. Just like in Job’s case, there are things in the life that we do not understand and do not even know that we do not understand. They are “unsearchable” meaning that we can not search for them on our own because we do not know what to look for or what to ask for.

Job could not find or understand the answers to his questions on his own, so he called on God, repeatedly, to help him.

My prayer today is that I will follow Job’s example. I want to be in such a close relationship with God that I am confident in going to Him, seeking Him, and calling upon Him to help me to understand the unsearchable things I do not know. As I ponder the words ask, seek, knock, and call, I realize that all of these words are present tense verbs. These are actions that I must take, and God will be there waiting for me to pour out His wisdom upon me.

I have not finished reading Job yet, but I am looking forward to it because I know that God is going to answer Job later in the chapter. I can not wait to find out how He responds. I know that Job was blessed through his trial simply by continually going to God for answers and strength. I pray that I will make God smile by not turning my back to Him, but trusting in Him each day.