Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬-‭16‬ (emphasis mine)
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you TO WILL and TO ACT in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

As a high schooler, I became interested in playing football. My interest started before high school actually, when I played flag football and investigated a lot about the game. I would watch football games on TV, I would play with my brothers, and I would try to imitate the moves of those who were in the pros. I asked a lot of questions about the techniques and methods in order to be effective in my position as an offensive and defensive lineman.

As I got answers to these questions, it became apparent to me that certain actions would be rewarded with increased ability in playing football. This included practicing frequently, lifting weights, and studying film to improve my play. I sought after these core activities in order to improve my ability to play football. I worked out five days a week in the off-season. I was one of the few players on my team that actually took notes on every play to try to determine how I could improve.

As I entered my senior year, much of the basic actions became instinctual. My muscle memory took over. And I was able to focus on deeper levels of understanding and performance in the game of football. Basically, I blew through some of the ceilings that existed in the prior years and became very good as a high school player. Now this is not nearly the same accomplishment as those who’ve gone on to play in college, or a few who have gone on to play pro football. (There is a former pro football player who goes to my church.)

But the comparison to our spiritual life is a good one, I believe. I used to think of this passage as mainly a prayer passage. And it is possible to apply it that way. But I now believe it is more than that. I believe it is pertaining to an all-out passion and pursuit for the things of God.

First, we must be inquisitive, and curious about who God is, how he operates, and what he wants us to do in life. Second, when we find out this information, we must pursue him with a relentless passion, seeking to be obedient and repenting of our sins quickly. We do this so that we can accelerate in our closeness to the Lord and serve him by his power.

And finally, as we build the disciplines necessary to support our spiritual muscles, we build muscle memory spiritually. This allows us to serve God in deeper and more meaningful ways as we mature. We begin to start knocking on the doors that have been closed off to us before. They were closed, not because God didn’t want to open them for us, but because we did not pursue or didn’t even understand where they were. For me, I might have been too focused on my career to think about caring for someone going through a hard time.

To say it another way, a new Christian may be excited about getting to know what it means to follow Jesus, and asks a lot of questions. They must move on from that to obedience and a passionate pursuit of what God wants us to be doing. And finally, as we mature, God includes us in bigger and more expansive opportunities to spread the gospel, bless others, and point people to Jesus.

This is what the apostle Paul is talking about when he talks about us shining like stars in the sky to those around us. He calls us to work on our salvation with fear and trembling, not because we are afraid of God, but because we revere him and honor him above all else. He says it is God who works in us to will and to act according to his good pleasure.

Do we want to see God show up in big ways in our lives? Do we want to do amazing things for the Lord? If so, we must be curious in our faith and passionately pursue the disciplines that allow us to draw close to God. And then God will help us to break through the doors or ceilings in our spiritual relationship with him and accomplish amazing things.

The main difference between our spiritual life and my football season is that God tells us what we need to do in the Bible, we have a lot of people that can model this for us, and we don’t need to have physical skill in order to follow God. He designed us all as masterpieces with specific purposes in his kingdom, and he has great plans for every single one of us.

Lord, thank you for this passage about how to pursue you. Help me to continue to grow in my daily disciplines so that I can continue to accomplish great things through your power and your Spirit in this world.