Waiting to Be Asked – Susan Barnes
"He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them ..." Mark 6:48
Jesus deliberately went out to where the disciples were in trouble, but when he got there, it seems odd that he was about to pass by them until they cried out for help. Similarly, on the road to Emmaus, we read that "Jesus continued on as if he were going farther until He was asked to stay." But they urged him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them.” (Luke 24:28-29)
To this day, Jesus does not barge into our lives without invitation or push himself upon us, even when we are desperately in need of his help. He does not violate our free will but rather waits to be asked. Jesus tells us to: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7) and in James, we are told: “You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2). It’s up to us to do the asking.
People today often pride themselves on being self-sufficient and feel they can make it on their own, without help from anyone. This attitude makes it hard to ask God for help. Asking takes humility and this is the attitude God is looking for in us. It’s recognising we aren’t as autonomous as we would like to think. Unfortunately, we may very well miss out on an encounter with God, if we are too proud to ask him for help.
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