My sister, brother and I were at the movies. We were to go to my uncle’s store after the movie ended and call our father to pick us up. He warned us, “Now don’t you ask Uncle Bill for anything.” When we got to Uncle Bill’s store he, generous person that he was, asked us what we wanted. My sister and I dutifully chimed in, “I’m not going to ask you for anything, Uncle Bill.” My (wiser) brother said, “I’m not going to ask you for anything but if you gave me something I would take it.” The ice cream was delicious. King Ahaz wouldn’t ask God for anything. “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” He wouldn’t ask because he had his plans and didn’t want God to tell him otherwise. We do something similar when we say, “I’m just an impatient person” or “I can’t forgive her.” Holding onto what we know instead of asking God for help to change will cause us to miss the new thing that God can do with the likes of us.
