Blessings take a lot of work, when they are handled properly. Yesterday we celebrated Asher, whose name means blessing and is a blessing, and the life God has given him. As I thought about his life and the difference it has made in our family’s life, it got me thinking about all of life’s blessings. God brings good things into our lives for a reason that has more to do with our faith in Him than it does our comfort.
God gives us blessing to grow us. Asher has certainly stretched our faith in a lot of ways and most blessings will. They are wonderful, but they change us. In receiving them we must acknowledge God. All good things come from Him. This draws us away from self-reliance and guides us toward God dependence. God dependent living requires prayer, study, sacrifice, service, and faith.
God gives us blessings to share. God had eternal life and came to give it to us. All of God’s blessings are meant to be celebrated and shared. Asher is going to leave us. Each day he lives is a step toward his going into the world. We are going to send him on his life's mission. God wants us to pass on our blessings and give them to the world. This has always been God’s purpose (Genesis 12:1-4).
God gives us blessings for His glory. The moment I saw Asher, I prayed and praised God. There have been many of those moments ever since. God blesses us so that we will praise Him and announce to the world what a great and good God He is. This is not some head trip for God. There is no one and no thing higher than Him. To worship any other than God is to miss the purpose of worship. God blesses us so that we will live in fear and astonishment of His great name.
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
~The Doxology
1 comment:
There are other blessings like doing without and wondering when (not if) God is going to provide. Other blessings include witnessing God supernaturally holding back the flood waters where normally one would expect an unfortunate outcome. Of course, I do not necessarily speak about literal floods but those scary storms in life such as people who faced incurable disease but are cured; those expected to loose their home but didn't; those expected to see their children suffer but are saved.
It is good to depend on God as David proclaimed in Psalms 119:71.
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