We know from the scriptures that God wants His people to have increase and prosperity in their life. Throughout the Bible we see scriptures that talk about the blessing of God’s people and how that’s a good thing. When you are trying to be content with what you have and maintain an attitude of thankfulness then sometimes hearing about increase and blessing can stir up a sense of lack or a craving for something that makes it difficult to maintain your contentment. Of course that is just another opportunity for you to get all that lacking, craving mindset out of your thinking but at some point in time you need to realize that although God wants you to be content and thankful, He also wants to bless you. Coming to a balanced sense of both will take a lot of stress and pressure off of you.

Asking here implies that you are looking to acquire something you don’t have. Knocking implies you are looking to get to a place, location or destination where you are not yet at. And seeking implies that you want a certain sense of enlightenment so you can see—find—something that you currently cannot. All three of these things will add or change your current situation.

So God does want to add or change certain things in your life. He wants you to be content and thankful for what you have and where you are but, there is also hope for change. So how do you balance the two? How do you remain content, yet be hopeful for more at the same time? The key is, to ask, seek and knock with a pure attitude. If, for example, you are seeking a certain position in the church it might look on the surface like that’s a good thing to want. But if you have some arrogance in your heart then your motivation for wanting that position may not really be a good thing. If you’re looking for recognition for yourself or the admiration of others, your motivation may not be to promote God’s Kingdom but rather your own. As another example, if you want a new outfit or some remodeling done on your house and the reason you want it is because you are really discontent without it then that’s not God’s best for you. You will make decisions while in a place of unhappiness, a feeling of lack and probably impatience or intolerance. You can come to a place of contentment and peace now before acquiring those other things. And it’s important you know how to do that. Then when its time for change, your decisions will come from a peaceful heart and they will be better decisions. And you’ll be happier all the while!

Heart-attitude is key. If your heart is pure and your attitudes are godly then your motivation for asking, seeking and knocking will be as well. And acquiring certain things or places will be the proper path for you. Once you’ve come to a place of contentment and gratitude then you will ask for things that are right for you, things that you will use and won’t turn into clutter. You will look to go to places that you belong, and you will seek for things that will be good and healthy for you, things that will light up the path and show you the direction you need to go.

So how do you get your heart and attitudes pure? Well, you can’t, but God can. And when you worship Him it all falls into place. Worshipping God is like putting a filter on your heart that draws out the crud and cleanses everything.

So instead of striving for things and being driven by motivations that may be out of alignment, look to worship God. Acknowledge His goodness and glory and let Him cleanse your heart in the process. When you do, then making the right choices will just happen and you’ll naturally have more peace and joy in your life.