When I was a wee girl, me granddaddy used ta say, "darlin' what do ya have to loose by askin'? The worse you could get is a no. Then yer no worse off than when ya started!"
This concept of askin' and continuin' to ask even when at times yer told no is a concept found within scripture. What I have learned over the years is that God has a desire to take care of His children, and yet there are times when the answer is "no". What we can rest in is the fact that we know our heavenly Father wants the very best for His children. So, when the answer is no, it is for our best, and He has somethin' better for us. However, there are those time when the answer is YES!
Matthew 7:7 tells us to "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you." This is one of the commands of Yeshua (Jesus) we teach in the programme here at the monastery. Along with this command is the character quality of Resourcefulness ~ "Wise use of that which others would normally overlook or discard"
I have watched this character quality lived out on a daily basis over the past five and a half years of being married to Clint Dunn. I could not understand at first the way he did things, because I have to be honest I was not a redeemer - not the way he is - and though I had an understanding of this concept of asking, it never really occurred to me to ask people for their rubbish (except maybe for those few times when we went dumpster divin' just for fun - but that is for another entry another time).
I have watched me husband over the past three years since the fire, go and gather wood scraps from job sites, take things off of people's hands that would have ended up in the dump, I have seen him be humbled and even ridiculed as he has sought to provide the needed materials for the new addition. I have never once seen him give up or buy into the thought that he could not somehow redeem the materials.
I remember the first year after the fire, we so desperately wanted to build onto the existing building. However, the money just was not there, then the second year came and went, we asked and kept on askin', but the answer was "NO"!! Now, here we are three and a half years later and the answer is YES! With every day that passes we are trustin' God that He is goin' to provide for our every need.
Do I understand why we had to wait three years? Wait for a kitchen, wait for a living room, wait for a pantry, wait for a laundry room? Yes ~ we have been stretched, sometimes beyond what we feel we can stand, and yet, we are still standin'! Have we had our character developed in ways that would never have happened without waitin'? Yes ~ a resoundin' YES!!
Luke 16:10 says, "He who is trustworthy in what is least, is trustworthy also in much. And he who is unrighteous in what is least is unrighteous also in much." We are learnin' that when we are faithful with the wee things God gives us to redeem ~ even other people's rubbish ~ He is faithful to give us more of what we need.
What we have learned more than ever is that God is more concerned with our character than with our comfort, and if we are willin' to simply obey when He asks us to trust Him then we will see Him answer when we ASK and KEEP ON ASKIN"!!
This concept of askin' and continuin' to ask even when at times yer told no is a concept found within scripture. What I have learned over the years is that God has a desire to take care of His children, and yet there are times when the answer is "no". What we can rest in is the fact that we know our heavenly Father wants the very best for His children. So, when the answer is no, it is for our best, and He has somethin' better for us. However, there are those time when the answer is YES!
Matthew 7:7 tells us to "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you." This is one of the commands of Yeshua (Jesus) we teach in the programme here at the monastery. Along with this command is the character quality of Resourcefulness ~ "Wise use of that which others would normally overlook or discard"
I have watched this character quality lived out on a daily basis over the past five and a half years of being married to Clint Dunn. I could not understand at first the way he did things, because I have to be honest I was not a redeemer - not the way he is - and though I had an understanding of this concept of asking, it never really occurred to me to ask people for their rubbish (except maybe for those few times when we went dumpster divin' just for fun - but that is for another entry another time).
I have watched me husband over the past three years since the fire, go and gather wood scraps from job sites, take things off of people's hands that would have ended up in the dump, I have seen him be humbled and even ridiculed as he has sought to provide the needed materials for the new addition. I have never once seen him give up or buy into the thought that he could not somehow redeem the materials.
I remember the first year after the fire, we so desperately wanted to build onto the existing building. However, the money just was not there, then the second year came and went, we asked and kept on askin', but the answer was "NO"!! Now, here we are three and a half years later and the answer is YES! With every day that passes we are trustin' God that He is goin' to provide for our every need.
Do I understand why we had to wait three years? Wait for a kitchen, wait for a living room, wait for a pantry, wait for a laundry room? Yes ~ we have been stretched, sometimes beyond what we feel we can stand, and yet, we are still standin'! Have we had our character developed in ways that would never have happened without waitin'? Yes ~ a resoundin' YES!!
Luke 16:10 says, "He who is trustworthy in what is least, is trustworthy also in much. And he who is unrighteous in what is least is unrighteous also in much." We are learnin' that when we are faithful with the wee things God gives us to redeem ~ even other people's rubbish ~ He is faithful to give us more of what we need.
What we have learned more than ever is that God is more concerned with our character than with our comfort, and if we are willin' to simply obey when He asks us to trust Him then we will see Him answer when we ASK and KEEP ON ASKIN"!!
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