Ask. Seek. Knock. Share!

Ask. Seek. Knock. Share!

I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

Luke 11:8 (NIV)

Whenever a new Amish community starts, someone always has to go first. Here’s a portion of a story from Ezra E. Miller, who moved from Michigan to Sikeston, Missouri, with his wife and four small children in 1927.

I went to the bank for money but the banker said he couldn’t give me any and that I should ask Manassas Bontrager for some. I went to Manasses. He gave me a check of fifteen dollars. I took this to the Tanner store. I bought $$500 worth of groceries for the family. The rest of the money he gave me in change: 5¢, 10¢, and 25¢. I had a pocketful of money. This paid my trip to Arthur, Illinois.

I arrived at Ed Yoder’s at one o’clock at night, the evening before Thanksgiving. Friday and Saturday I husked corn. Then it snowed and I could not husk any more. I then went to Dan Otto’s shop. His wife was my wife’s cousin. From Thanksgiving until Christmas there were only four days I could husk. But I worked at Dan Otto’s. The money I got I sent to my wife and children. I left for home the day after Christmas.

We like to provide for ourselves, but sometimes, like the neighbor in Luke 11, we must plead our case to others. A woman needed bread for a visitor, and she knocked at her neighbor’s door until she received some. Did she get chided for this wake-up call? No.

Sometimes God provides through extraordinary means, but sometimes God brings others to help us. It’s also a reminder of how we must look to God: “I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).

Ask. Knock. Receive. Share!

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for those who help and give, and thank You for always answering my prayers.