God's Blessing
God’s Blessings
Our Father God love to bless us with the riches of His heaven, His divine intervention and most importantly with His presence. The question is ‘Are we always willing to perceive, to see, to acknowledge and to receive His gifts of blessing?’
When Abraham rescued his nephew Lot (Genesis 14 v 10 – 16), the King of Sodom wanted to reward him for also rescuing his people and bringing back all his possessions.
“But Abram replied to the King of Sodom “I have raised my hand to the Lord Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not accept even a thread, or a strap of a sandal, or anything that belongs to you, lest you should say “I have made Abram rich.” Genesis 14 v 22 – 23
Abraham gave the credit for his blessings and success to God alone. It pleases our Father God when we acknowledge Him as the source and resource of our blessings. So pleased was He with Abraham’s humility and acknowledgement of Him that He spoke words of kindness and reassurance to him:
“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, and your exceedingly great reward.” Genesis 15 v 1
When we acknowledge Father God as our source and resource, He is faithful to help us maintain our confidence in Him. That confidence keeps us connected to Him. Like Abraham, we need to take God at His word. We need to believe what He says. Abraham believed and our Father God called that belief righteousness and that righteousness He equated as friendship with Himself.
But not every blessing just drops into your lap. Jabez prayed for a blessing and our Father God answered his request, but Jacob had to wrestle to get his blessing. He said:
“I will not let go until you bless my soul.” Genesis 32 v 26
Be prepared, if required, to wrestle with God for a breakthrough for your blessing through prayer and fasting, in order, to achieve that blessing. Jacob showed perseverance through sheer physical determination. As a result, God blessed him with peace in his soul, safety concerning all he possessed and restoration within the broken family relationships. We learn from Jacob not to pray for just material and financial blessings. Instead, we pray for blessings that will impact and transform our lives, our surroundings and the lives of others. Our Father God changed Jacob’s name from deceiver to Israel because he was willing to contend with God. He contended because deep within himself he knew that he could not continue to live life the way he was living it – deceiving and being deceived. God blessed him by changing him from the man he was to the man He always intended to be – blessed!!!
Our Father God’s blessings are gifts from heaven – they are spiritually divine. His blessings come down to earth – the natural realm of our lives being touched by the spiritual realm of heaven. The Apostle James said:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variables, neither shadow of turning.” James 1 v 7
We know that God is the Father of all the nation of the earth. He is not like man. He loves us all. He shows His compassion, grace, and kindness to whoever He chooses. The Apostle Matthew noted that:
“He makes His sun to shine on the unrighteous and the righteous and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” Matthew 5 v 45
The daily cycle of nature is a blessing to all of us. We can all recount moments when we have been delighted in how beautiful a day appear to us or the farmers who are happy and thankful for a downpour of rain on their crop. We are all the beneficiaries of the natural realm. Creation is a gift from our Father God.
In Acts 9 v 1 – 22 our Father God choose to bless a specific individual that many people would have thought would be the last person on earth that He would choose to bless. Remember – our Father God is not like man. He loves us all, regardless who we are or what we have done. Our Father God choose to single out and bless a man named Saul, when Jesus Christ revealed Himself to him on the road to Damascus. Who was Saul? He was a highly educated, devout Pharisee and a zealous persecutor of the faith. By earthly attributes he was a prominent man. Yet he was humbled when our Father God blessed him with mercy, love, grace, and forgiveness. Through the resurrected life of Jesus, our Father God blessed Saul with a transformed character and new name - just as He did for Jacob! Saul become the Apostle Paul – our biggest advocate for Jesus Christ. When we respond to the voice, discipline, leading and grace of our Father God, it impacts our lives and the lives of others for good, and our passion for Jesus Christ. That is a blessing!
How often do we stop to reflect and consider why our Father God chooses to liberally bless us? Maybe not as often as we should. The Apostle Paul wrote that:
“As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, so that through us your giving will produce thanksgiving to God. For this ministry of service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9 v 9 – 12
The Apostle Paul understood that our Father God blesses us to be a blessing to others, so out of the mouths of those who are the recipients of that blessing comes praises that are directed back to Him. God loves a thankful heart. Their proclamation of thanksgiving is a confession and acknowledgement that God is also their source and resource. Let us pray for more opportunities to actively share the generosity of our Father God with others that they may bless His Name.
Our Father God enriches us with His blessings by adding to what we already have, such as enriching of our spiritual gifts, developing new talents and skills, forming and growing in new friendships and relationships, succeeding in our work environments and succeeding in our businesses, and the physical expansion within our families. We do not need to limit Him by being prescriptive. Instead, we choose to allow Him to decide our blessings. The Apostle Paul said:
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2 v 9
Our imagination, no matter how big we dream, just is not big enough. Our arms wide we open them cannot contain the blessings of our Father God. And yet, the Apostle Paul went on the say in the next verse:
“But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 2 v 10
We are blessed with foresight through the promises written in our Father God’s Holy Word. In Matthew 5 v 3 – 11 the blessings of heaven that Jesus Christ shared were blessings of exchange, promise and transformation. We know them as the Beatitudes. Our Father God’s blessings beautify our lives. For example, Jesus said:
“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5 v 4
Jesus did not say ‘could be’, ‘maybe’, ‘might be’ or ‘potentially’. He said: ‘they shall’.
This blessing runs parallel with the prophetic word recorded in the Book of Isaiah concerning the mandate of Jesus. It includes:
“To console the mourners in Zion - to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair.” Isaiah 61 v 3
Our Father God’s blessings are like new clothes. These clothes are to be likened to the wardrobe of royalty because they are bestowed upon us by the King of Kings from the Kingdom of God.
We know that our Father God loves to bless. Blessing reflects His nature, character, heart, desire, will and grace. The greatest blessing that our Father God has given us so far, is the gift of salvation and the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ through the work of salvation at the cross. It is written:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3 v 16
Jesus is the firstborn of the resurrected life. Our Father God extends that right to the blessing of a resurrected life to all people in every generation, giving us equal opportunity to access this remarkable gift that He wants us all to possess as a blessing. This blessing while a compassionate blessing motivated by the love of our Father God, is a conditional blessing because it requires a response from us as individuals. It requires making a choice. We need to humbly open our hearts and ask for this great gift. Not only does our Father God give us eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, but He welcomes us back into His family as His sons and daughters. We become ‘joint-heirs’ with Jesus Christ into the Kingdom of God. He does this by blessing us with the guidance of the Holy Spirit – the Comforter. What a blessing!
“And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son, Jesus into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba Father’. We are no longer servants but sons and heirs of God through Jesus.” Galatians 4 v 6 – 7
The blessings of our Father God have changed our status and our position through the obedience of Jesus Christ at the cross. His obedience and resurrection have brought us the blessings of salvation and restoration back into the family of our Father God. And there are more blessings to come.
Amen xxx
The Beatitudes
Jesus said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”
Matthew 5 v 3 - 11