“But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live, And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live”. 1 Corinthians 8:6
In Joshua chapter fifteen, Othniel asked her father, Caleb, for land that included springs of water, to which Caleb responded by giving her land that included upper and lower springs. In Joshua 17:3-4, Zelophehad had no sons, so all five of his daughters approached Joshua and asked for land for themselves. Land had only been allotted to men as heads of families, but being that their family had no men, they didn’t want to miss out on the blessing of land. Joshua responded by giving them a grant of land as they requested.
And in Joshua 17:14, the descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and requested more land because the Lord had blessed them with so many people. Joshua replied by telling the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh to “clear as much land as they wished and take possession of its farthest corners.”
So, what can we learn from these three closely related examples? Maybe we can learn that the only thing standing between what we have and what we need is just a simple “ask.” James 4:2 tells us that “we have not because we ask not.”
So, if we’re “not asking” then the next question is why don’t we ask? There are several ways we could answer that question, but one that hits my mind is related to how we see God. Do you see God as the mean, old, miserly-looking, white-bearded man who seems grumpy? Well, if you do then that may explain why you may not ask as often. If that’s our impression of God, then who would expect to get a favorable answer?
The truth is that’s not the true picture of God at all. One of the best depictions of God is the one Jesus made of him in the telling of the story we’ve come to call “The Prodigal Son;” which is actually more of a story about a loving father. It was in that story that Jesus portrayed God as the loving father who waited patiently for his son to return home, and when he did return, the father lavished him with open, loving arms.
Today, let’s remind ourselves to simply ask. Knowing that whether the answer is yes or no, the answer is coming straight from our loving Heavenly Father who loves us and, as often as He can, loves to say yes.