Have you thought about this? Have you thought about why people are in your life? Even the ones you really don't like? Could those people that you really don't like be blessings in your life and you are missing it?
I love the conversation that God has with Abraham (well...his name is Abram at this point of the story). In Genesis 12:1-3
The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.He is telling Abram to go and be a blessing because God is blessing him. Isn't He telling us the same thing? "Sarah, I have blessed you so much. I have even allowed you to see a glimpse into my many blessings. But...I didn't bless you so that you could keep it all to yourself. Rather, I want you to be a blessing to others." WOW!!!!
"I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."
I didn't do anything to deserve the many blessings in my life. Which means that I don't deserve to keep them all to myself.
The other part of this scripture hits me hard. What is God telling me that I need to leave so that I can fully follow Him? So that I can be blessed in order to be a blessing? Is it my pride, my anger, my judgmental self (and the list does go on and on). What is it for you? What is stopping you from following God all the way???
If everyone wrote out all of their blessings (even when...especially when...they are going through the storms of this life) then made it a daily goal not only to thank God for those blessings but in return be a blessing to others...think of how different our world would be. One of my other sweet mentors told me that you can't change THE world but you can change YOUR world. It starts with you!!
Of course I couldn't write this blog without hearing the sweet voice of Laura Story singing:
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
As long that we have faith to believe
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise
I encourage you to look for all the blessing in your life. I love that this song reminds us that sometimes the blessings we have in our life are often masked because they aren't what we asked for. But don't we worship a God who knows EXACTLY what we need and still blesses us with more than we deserve??
Amen!!! Thanks for sharing. There are always more blessings than trials if we look for them.
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