Matthew 7/7/17

What happens when you have this crazy random thought to Google something? Do you find what you are looking for? This morning, I decided to Google today’s date: 7/7/17. I was not looking for anything in particular. Maybe today was a “National Day Of…” that I could celebrate. You know I’m a sucker for pretend holidays. Anyway, I remember on this day back in 2007 (7/7/7), we were told that it was the luckiest day ever. I guess I thought that because today was 7/7/17, that it was also a lucky day, a perfect day even. Although I did not know what I was looking for when I Googled the date, I found exactly what I needed to find.

Matthew 7:7-17.

Matthew 7/7/17. It is the first Google result. A Bible verse. So, I clicked the link to reveal…

“7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will you give a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish,will you give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and may enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

I was IMMEDIATELY blown away.

How often do I get the chance to actively see God guiding me?! Most of the time I realize it in hindsight. We all have our personal battles to fight. Because I am not perfect, I often forget to take the time out to thank God for all that He has given me. Lately, He has been giving me tests. I believe that these tests that I have been given are to show how strong I can really be as a woman, as a mother, and as a human being. I just keep thinking to myself, “I’m going through all of this for a REASON. There HAS to be a reason! But, how do I find the answer?!” I have to admit, I became frustrated because I wanted the answer when I wanted the answer. God doesn’t work that way, though.

THIS IS MY ANSWER! As soon as I realized what I had the chance to stumble upon, I texted my mama and Marquis. My mama has front row seats to the struggle I have been going through. She knew immediately how important finding this bible verse was to me. Marquis, on the other hand, is the deep thinker in our family. He felt the need to ask, “what does this mean to you?”

What does this mean to me?

Ask, Seek, Knock

“7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will you give a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will you give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The first thing that sticks out to me from this passage is that I need to be more willing to ASK for what it is that I want. Most of the time, I am afraid, because I feel like I have no right to ask God things. I feel like I am not Christian enough to stick my hand out and ask God for forgiveness, guidance, or clarity. Maybe it’s a pride thing. It’s SOMETHING. However, God is telling me that I have to seek, I have to knock, I have to ask.

The second thing that sticks out to me is that because I feel like I am not Christian enough or because I do not go to church enough, I do not ask. But, that does not instantly make me a bad person. God will still grant the desires of those who ask Him.

The third thing that sticks out to me is the Golden Rule. “Do to others what you would have them do to you.” As a new mother, one of the most important things that I can teach Jaxon, and remind myself, is to treat others how I want them to treat me. It’s that simple.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and may enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

In a biblical sense, this passage means that entering through a wide gate on a broad road will lead to destruction. If you follow Jesus, you will travel down a small gate, on a narrow road that will lead you to salvation. For me, that simply means what is easy, i.e. the wide gate and broad road, is not always the right thing to do. What is hard, will, however, lead you to good things.

True and False Prophets

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

Like the one before, it is simple. Watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing! We all know those kinds of people. How do we separate ourselves from them? This also means that it is imperative to practice what I preach and to teach Jaxon to do the same.

Today, 7/7/17 is a perfect day. It is a perfect day because, by a happy chance, I found this. I found exactly what I needed to calm my worries, and to tell myself that I am a good person, and a good mother.