What is it that you need?  What are you looking for?  What would it take for your life to really mean something?  What will it take for you to let God make your ordinary into extraordinary?  What are you doing about the frustrations and disappointments that are holding you down and pushing you back?

I don’t know what you need, are looking for or doing about life, but I know what we all need to be doing.  We need to be asking God for His help, guidance, direction and blessing.  James 4:2 says:  ”You have not because you ask not!”

The Bible is full of commands and promises concerning asking!  Matthew 7:7-11 says: ”Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:  8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.  9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?  10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

And John 15:7 says:  ”If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”

And of course Philippians 4:6-7 which teaches us to:  “⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So the question is not should we ask, but how do we ask?  And for the answer to that question, we must once again look to Scripture.  In James 1:6-8 we read the following directions:  ” ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”

Let’s see if we can simplify this into some steps –

Step 1 – Believe!

Step 2 – Do not doubt!

Step 1 – Believe + Step 2 – Do not doubt = FAITH!

So how do we ask?  In faith, with faith and through faith and God will respond every time!  Remember:  Faith is like a muscle – the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes!  Go ahead, give it a try – you will be glad you did!

Do you have questions?  Are there things in your life you need to know, that you want to know, but you don’t know?  I have discovered that a lot of times in my life when I have more questions than I do answers, it is because I have not taken the time or made the effort to ask the questions!

If you have questions, then you can rest assured that God has answers.  We just need to take the time to communicate with Him.  The Bible puts it this way!  “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”  James 1:5

What is it that you are confused about?  What is it that you have questions about?  What is it that you need some wisdom about?  Take some time to talk with your Creator.  He wants to answer you.  In fact, the Scripture says:  “He wants to give generously to all!”  And I really like that it says:  “without finding fault”, because a lot of times the reason we won’t ask a question is because we don’t want to appear dumb.

We are really dumb, when we won’t ask God, who has promised not to hold it against us, but to answer us and leave us much better than when we started.  So if you’ve got questions, He has answers!  Take the time to get you some wisdom – you will be glad you did!

Do you ever feel like life is out to get you?  Do you wonder if you might be walking around with a great big target on your back?  Do you feel as if life seems to be throwing you one challenging situation after another?  If you live life long enough, you are going to experience trials!

I don’t like trials!  In fact, for most of my life I have done pretty much everything within my power to avoid trials.  Even with my best efforts at avoidance, trials seem to find their way into my life and while I don’t really like them, I have discovered that I have survived.  In fact, through the trails I have done something more than survive, I am beginning to notice that as I live my way through the trials, there are actually moments that I begin to thrive!

In the Scripture we are told to:  “2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  James 1:2-4

Consider it joy when I face a trial?  Are you kidding me?  No – that’s what it says and then it tells us why we as Believers should consider it not just joy, but “pure joy”!  It says that when a trial comes into our lives, it provides testing of our faith.  The trial comes to test our faith, not to show God how strong or weak we are, because He already knows the answer to that question.  The trial comes into our lives to test our faith to help us to know how strong or weak we are and this knowledge is for a purpose!

The purpose of this knowledge is to produce perseverance – the strength to stand up under whatever pressure the world might try to put upon us!  This perseverance is what makes us mature and complete.  It is the finishing touch of the Master’s hand that takes the ordinary and turns it into extraordinary!

As you face trials this week, don’t let them knock you down, instead let them lift you up and carry you to that place that you could never get to on your own!