Doing a Bit Extra

Sometimes, life does not go as planned. My daughter is home sick today with bronchitis. Yesterday, I had so many plans and things to do after Thanksgiving. I had to stop, cancel appointments and change my plans, because my daughter needed me more than my ‘to do list’ did. So, before and after we saw the doctor, I sat with her on the couch and snuggled with her, while she watched Christmas shows. I don’t want her to be sick, however it was nice to embrace this opportunity to spend time with her and turn something bad into good. God does this all the time with us. When we are going through a difficult time, if we turn to God, he will use our hardship as an opportunity to show us grace. God will spend time with us and comfort us, while he has our attention and focus. When I hear little knock on the door and a voice say, “Mommy, I am not feeling well.” I open the door, look at my child’s face and hug my child. God is waiting for us to “knock and the door will be opened to you”, as a father treats a beloved child. We have to ask God for what we want, and he will give us what we need, ““Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find”.

Ask, Seek, Knock
“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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
–Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)

When you have kids, they are always hungry for snacks. Have you ever finally gotten everyone in the car to go someplace, when your children suddenly realizes they are thirsty and hungry? It happens often for me, so I fill up the water bottles and bring a few snacks. God is our father and he provides for us. He will not give us a stone, when we ask for bread or a snake when we ask for fish. God will give us what we need to satisfy our appetite. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” God is good. God wants to provide for us and answer our prayers, God will not answer our prayers with what we don’t need. Instead, God will answer our prayers with a bit extra that we hadn’t even considered.

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
–Matthew 7:9-12 (NIV)

Christmas is quickly approaching. I love giving my children the gifts that they ask for. It makes me so happy! If we are delighted to give our children gifts, how much more is the Lord delighted to give us good gifts to those who ask him? God loves when we seek him, and he loves to answer our prayer requests with good gifts. When I pray, God is so good that he not only answers my prayers, but he provides so much more than I could ever imagine. The details that could go wrong, don’t, because God is giving me a gift, and he thinks of everything. God is the most thoughtful, glorious gift giver.

The Lord will answer our prayers with more than we can imagine. We can think of a plan and outline, however the Lord knows what we actually need. The Lord is so kind and generous to us. When we interact with others, we have to think of how we would want to be treated. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Maybe, we should go one step farther and think ‘How would the Lord treat me in this situation?” We can never measure up to the Lord most high, but maybe this will change our perspective from doing the least amount possible, to doing a bit extra, so Christ can shine through us.