I must admit I've been there a few times myself. I ask for something, thinking I'm ready to receive it. What I've realized is, is that I'm ready to have it, but not ready to receive it. "Ready to have" is a totally different than "ready to receive."
When you look up the meaning of "HAVE" you see things like:
Possession, control, to take, obtain or get.
When you look up the meaning of "RECEIVE" you see things like:
gain knowledge of, take in, be subject to, have capacity for.
As I'm reading the definitions for the two words, I'm getting a sour taste in my mouth for the word have.
I'm not saying that having stuff in wrong but I'm recognizing the difference in intent between the two words.
To have seems more of a selfish gain. Of one's own accord by. Have you ever heard anyone say "I get blessings from the Lord?" Even when we speak of gifts there is a different feeling about a gifts. "What did you get for Christmas." See what I mean?
I'm recognizing most of us are ready to have, not receive.
To receive requires some sort of qualification. Some work and effort is required on our end to receive, especially from Heavenly Father.
That kind of receiving teaches, gives us knowledge. Asks us to step it up and be required for us to receive and maintain that which we are asking for.
We say things like "I receive blessings from the Lord." When there is significance and value placed upon something we tend to "receive" instead.
Very rarely does the Lord give us something just because we want it. Most of the time we aren't ready to receive it. We haven't put in the effort to qualify for it. Even the good things we ask for. We may be qualified to receive, but are we qualified to maintain it if we do receive it? Are we qualified to deal with and the real changes in the lives of others,if we receive it? We all have an idea of how things may be if we receive what we ask for. But Only God the Father knows what changes it would actually have, which may not be anywhere near what we are expecting or hoping to happen. Would we be qualified and ready for changes we're not expecting if we were to receive what we ask for.
These are things to be considered when we ask for what we thing we want. If what we want doesn't come how we want, do we still want it?
We gain great knowledge in the journey we travel when we receive something.
How willing are we to take that journey? When we are truly willing to travel the journey, then and only then are we ready to recieve. If we just want an end result and make excuses and justifications about why we can't take the journey or only want to make part of the journey or need to do the journey on terms of your own then, my friends, we are NOT ready to recieve. When we are ready to recieve, we will take the steps to do what is needed, WHATEVER IS NEEDED, hard steps, soft steps, quiet steps, loud steps... Whatever steps,
to take that journey that will allow us to recieve what we are asking for.
Sometimes when we get what we ask for, it's not really what we even want to have. It's something someone else has, something we've outgrown, something that could halt our life progression at this particular time. I think before we start asking for things we need to ask how it will truly effect us and those around us (family) and see how it effects their progression.
Recently I've wondered: If I want something for someone else and it is for their greater good, but I have selfish motivation or intent behind it, then it usually doesn't happen. It's frustrating. I tell myself "this is a good thing, they deserve it! They will be truly blessed by it." And it will be true. But inside I'm counting on and hoping for all the benefits I'll have because of it... I'm not ready to recieve, I'm ready to "have."
Seems recently I've been surrounded by more people who are ready to have and not willing to recieve. With this new understanding I hope I'm having less of a ";get" mentality with "recieve" expectations. Because it seriously doesn't work out, and it doesn't serve me and the woman I want to be.
4 comments:
Wow. Great post. I wish I'd read this on Sunday as it reads like a Sacrament meeting talk. (In fact, I may adapt it the next time I'm asked to speak and not given a topic.)
You are so right: there is a difference between "having" and "receiving". You don't even have to look for more spiritual things: look in your closet and count the number of new (or nearly-new) clothes that are lying their unworn, because you don't really need them. Or books. Or DVDs. Or...well, you get the idea.
Great post.
I once asked the Lord to show me my weaknesses so I could work on them. He did. It was hard. Now I'm more careful about what I ask for.
Kristin, girl, that's like praying for patience and affliction. (which I actually did once and once was too much.
The following prayer comes to mind. It is the Third Step Prayer of Alcoholics Anonymous:
"God, I offer myself to Thee -- to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!"
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