Maybe I am the only one who has had to overcome immaturity and selfishness? Maybe no one else has had to suppress resentment towards the testimonies of "God's favor"? Over the years I have heard and read countless rationales of "prosperity" that encouraged my soul rather than edified my Spirit. Yes, God wants to bless me, "not because of who I am but because of Whose I am"(Joel Osteen). But His abundance isn't just for me and it isn't measured by what I drive, where I live, what I wear or by how much money is in my pocket.
We know that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above (James 1:17), whether a person has declared Jesus as Lord and Savior or not. Even if a person never acknowledges Him, God gives sight to the poor and the oppressor (Proverbs 29:13). Yet sometimes it can be difficult for us to celebrate God's generosity when it is someone else who is the beneficiary. It does not matter if the individual is strong in their Faith or in a lifestyle of sin. It is God who should be exalted, not our pride or envy.
Worse yet, we can become critical and bitter with our God and those who have been blessed. It is not easy to see a friend get married who hasn't been single as long as you have. It can be difficult to be happy for someone who has started a new job or been given a promotion, when you are still receiving rejection letters. Even the simple pleasures can be stumbling blocks for our Love for Jesus and others. Having to turn down an invitation to join friends dining out because of budget limitations can lead to frustration and envy.
We will wander in the wilderness until our hearts are surrendered to Him. When we can celebrate the goodness of God, no matter what our own circumstances may be, then we will see His loving kindness in ways that we have never known.
Direct me by your commands! I love to do what you say. Make me want to obey you, rather than to be rich. Take away my foolish desires, and let me find life by walking with you. Psalm 119: 35-37
I do not think our praise of His blessings is limited to what He has given us, we should be happy for others when they are doing well. When someone near us is blessed we should exalt Him. It should be exciting to see Jesus answer others' prayers. Another brother or sister's prosperity is praise worthy! We should proclaim our joy when Jesus blesses and exceeds the needs of His brothers and sisters.
Rejoicing in God is not a passive activity. The Hebrew word for thanks is yadah. It means especially to revere or worship (with extended hands); intensively. This type of outward expression is easily exhibited during sporting contests and other activities that we our passionate about, yet when it comes to our Faith, we can be docile?
I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. Psalm 7:17
So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure! Psalm 32:11
We are commanded in the Word to rejoice at the Goodness of God!
But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. Psalm 5:11
If we love Him and are seeking Him, then we have to magnify Him!
Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!” Psalm 40:16
It takes a willingness to yield to Holy Spirit, to allow Him to convict us and heal us of our pride and our selfishness (Psalm 19:13-14, Psalm 51:10). It also means that we have to be "prepared" for the opportunities to glorify Jesus when He moves on behalf of those near us. It means that we need to be expressive in our appreciation (Psalm 107:31,32) of what God has done, for ourselves and others. Declaring it to the Body of Christ and the world around us.
Because the earth is the Lord's (Psalm 24:1) and it is full of His Glory (Psalm 33:5), we will never be without opportunity to revel in the Greatness of God's abundance!
GLORY!
3 comments:
AMEN! I have to admit I have struggled with this. I am getting better at this as time goes on. It takes those special opportunities to really praise God for other's blessings! I love you!
I don't know how it happened, but one day I was in a mall in Londrina, BZ, buying clothes for a young woman that was taken out of lean-to slum, by the pastor of a church, where I was ministering. She was in awe of the new clothes on the racks. My team was able to purchase her 2 outfits. 3 things made this experience amazing. One, we also got her some perfume. She clutched the bottle as if it were a treasure. 2, I overheard her later on sobbing and thanking God as she slipped into a quiet room. And more importantly, that night at the service she shone like Moses as she worshipped in an unknown language, which just happened to be English. I have never heard such anointed praise.
When I teach mentoring, the most important aspect, is to train someone to take your place in the church, whether it's toilet cleaner or pastor-- true mentoring is wanting the person that you are working with to be the best they can be, even if it is better than you. It is the essence of the double portion.
The biblical principal of sharing someone else's blessing is to bless others. If we are givers, we'll never need to be takers.
So, sir, I thank God for you and pray His richest blessings on you-- to be an anointed writer for Him. To have the most traffic to this blog-- to be light and salt in a dying world.
To be debt free, generous to the poor, hope for the widow and a friend to those in prison.
May God raise you up and impart to you miraculous gifting, and Gospel of hope to reach the hurting and the lost!
We are blessed everyday in our lives and at the time we never think we are, each day that God breaths fresh air in our lungs for us to see another day we are blessed. But for so long many of us want blessing to huge package. If we learn to thank God for just blessing us everyday then just maybe we won't forget how blessed we really are.
Post a Comment