"Ask,
and it will be given to you;
Seek,
and you will find;
Knock,
and it will be opened unto you."
-- Matthew 7:7, NAS, The Bible
[Classic post from 11-18-16]
What a magnificent quote from the Bible. Notice what it doesn't say. It doesn't say, "Complain, and you will have more to complain about; close your eyes and mind and you will be blind to opportunity; forget about your power and you will experience powerlessness." No, it doesn't say this, but these would be equally true with the words from the Bible.
It has been said, and I have heard it, and read it many times over the years that, "it is better to give than receive." You've probably heard it and maybe even said it yourself, but do you find it to be true? And, if so, why do you believe it? Is it because you think this is the right thing to do, to be selfless, or is it because of how you feel doing one or the other? Was that feeling taught you, or did you experience it on your own?
Here's a better question: Is it possible to give without receiving? Likewise, is it possible to receive without giving? And, another: is giving really better than receiving? Is there something selfish about receiving?
Some of us who have believed that very old adage that it is better to give than receive, are leading lives with a huge lack of receiving. We are not getting what we want because we somehow think that we don't deserve it. We might even think that we deserve the lot in life we have become accustomed to--never enough money, unsatisfying jobs, and a very long list of lacking this and that and the other. Is giving really better than receiving? Why is receiving lacking when compared with giving?
I think it is purely training. Perhaps well-meaning training. It may have been passed down generation to generation. Yet, it is only real as we say it is real.
Abraham, Esther Hicks in their first published book, Ask and It Is Given, is exactly as the Bible quote from Matthew 7:7. Abraham says that whatever you ask, it is gladly given. They say, that there are three parts to this simple, yet profound teaching. Step one: Ask. This is our job. Just like the sign on my wall that begins with, "WHAT is my job." Asking is always our job. If we are not asking, there is no getting.
Step two: It is given. This is exactly what the Bible quote says, isn't it? It is given. Ask, and it is given. There isn't any negotiation. It is done. It is given. As soon as we ask, it is given. Gladly. With unconditional love. No magic, just fact. This part is not our job, and as the second part of my sign on my wall says, "HOW is God's job." I don't need to know how because that is not my job. My job is to ask. When I ask, it is given. Done deal.
Step three: Receive. Now, here's where it gets dicey. God says, ask, and it will be given; seek, and we will find (with our eyes and mind open!); and, knock, and it shall be opened to me. All the same thing. We say what we want, it is given, and asking, seeking, knocking are not activities as they might seem, but expressions of our desires. Abraham, Esther Hicks from a seminar in 2001 said this:
"You might say, "How do I know if I'm in a receiving mode or not?" And we say, you always feel good when you're in a receiving mode. When someone offers you a compliment, do you receive it, or do you sort of just shrug it off? There's something about believing that you must justify your existence through your effort or through your perseverance, through your struggle. And many of you just have not practiced the receiving mode."
Most of us who have always believed that it is better to give than receive, have taken that to heart to the point that they are not allowing themselves to receive in many different ways. Some are not feeling deserving, not loving ourselves, not believing they can have what they want, feeling powerless, unworthy, and many more. But receiving is part of the three-step equation, and it isn't just Abraham, is it? What comes next from the Bible quote is receiving. Ask, and it is given. Receive and you shall accept the gift that is given.
Part one is our job. We must ask. But, as Jesus said, we are so enhanced by the power of our asking as we ask in believing. I want this, and I believe I can have it because when I ask it is always given. I don't even need to trust. It is always given.
Part two is not our job. God, the Universe, All-That-Is will be fully in charge of this part. It is given. Every time. All we need do is ask. However, if we are complaining, lamenting, not believing, we get that too. The asking part is our choice and whatever we ask is okay, and whatever we ask is given in love, even if we are not loving ourselves.
Part three is our job. Are we ready to receive? Will we feel deserving to receive? If God says whatsoever ye ask is yours, then what point is there is arguing with this by feeling undeserving. Receiving is as important as giving. It is not more important or better to give than receive. They are both equally important. We have much to share (giving), and we have much to learn and delight in (receiving).
Trust. Trust that the Bible verse and Abraham's plan is true. Consider what you're asking, and take joy in that it is given while accepting that the asking is given by receiving with equal joy and confidence.
What's The Difference Between Asking For What We Want Or What We Don't Want? Joy!
Spread Some Joy Today--by receiving the joy that is offered to you every day, everywhere you go, even as you are standing still.
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