If I have to wait longer than I think I should or if I want to do more than I know I should, restlessness pays me a visit. As soon as it arrives, I’m determined to shorten its stay.

With my foot tapping and my mind racing, my soul sits up and pays attention. The tension was sent to teach me.

A nagging sense that there’s something I need to do, may really be a signal for a way I need to be.

Be content. Be reflective. Be yielded to God’s grace in ways that honor His call to trust Him. But as I keep those goals in mind, I also need to be honest. Restlessness reveals inner conflict over an unmet longing. You may have a few of those too.

Most of us are living at an unusually slow pace, while some of us have an uptick of activity. But even if we wrestle with what’s unsettled inside of us, there’s a way to find out what’s best for each of us. In all of our longings and not doing, here are 3 things God wants us to keep doing.

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7 NLT)

I admit Matthew 7:7 used to baffle me. Why do I have to keep on asking? Didn’t God hear me the first time?

Why do I have to keep on seeking? Doesn’t He see what I need?

Why do I have to keep on knocking? Doesn’t He know my spiritual knuckles are sore?

And yet, even as we wait to see all God has in mind, we are receiving grace for each moment. We are finding God is faithful. The door to His will is open, it’s framed with the words “trust Him.”

Whatever I ask God for, it’s also about receiving the knowledge of who He is. Whatever I’m seeking, I need to seek His will above my own. As I knock on the door of a new season, I must be open to His purpose.

However, sometimes restlessness isn’t due to an unmet longing. It’s about an undone task we’ve left behind. Fear, hurt or doubt constantly tell us to look away from what we want to avoid.

But the stirrings God puts in our heart won’t disappear. They wait for us to come to Him and ask, seek and knock. In those times, I ask God to strengthen and heal me. I seek His forgiveness for my doubt and unbelief. It’s time to knock out any thought telling me it’s too late or too hard for Him to restore what was lost.

When things are unsettled around me, I don’t have to settle for less than God’s will.

Matthew 7:7 is a faith builder and a doubt buster. It guarantees there is rest beyond our restlessness. However, our asking, seeking and knocking are not required to get God’s attention. They are required to make sure He has ours.

Join me in this prayer of asking, seeking and knocking:

Dear God, Thank You for this open invitation. Forgive me for the times You’ve shown me what to do and I left it undone. I bring the inner conflict of my longings to You. I’m asking You to meet my needs with Your abundance. I’m seeking Your guidance for every decision. I’m knocking on the door of Your will, knowing Your grace is with me as I walk through the door. May I be kept by Your power and abide in Your peace. In Jesus’s name, Amen.