12
Jan '19
Don’t Block the Blessings
12
Jan '19
We are all familiar with social media. We have friends, followers, or have established online groups where others with similar interests join and collaborate. It’s usually a fun time with these other people on the other side of the screen. They throw likes our way, they comment with compliments or similar points of view and they even give great ideas on various subjects… until they don’t. It’s then that you open up your social media account and see something you don’t like. “Did they really just say that?”, we ask ourselves. We can either be hot headed and spout off a remark (but if we’re smart, we’ll backspace that remark and delete it!), or we have this little button we can click. It’s called a “BLOCK” button.
Let’s get real with ourselves; have we ever “blocked” God? Sometimes things come our way in life that we don’t like – and yes, they can be from God. But, have you ever gotten to the point where you were upset with God and just blocked Him? Do we realize that blocking God also blocks us from the blessings He has in store for us? (I’ll go first – “Yes!”) We are reminded in Proverbs 13:19 NLT – “It is pleasant to see dreams come true, but fools refuse to turn from evil to attain them.”
See, God has this abundance of blessings awaiting us. No, we may not be setup to receive a blessing of a King like David, but there were many trials that David went through that delayed God’s blessings for him. Sure, the Lord still fulfilled the promise He had for David – but it sure seems to be that David blocked some of the blessings with the path that he sometimes would take that was not in God’s plan. David – the man after God’s own heart – had a way of screwing up, just like we do. We know that we’re Christians and God has our back, but to want to enter Heaven by the skin of our teeth, is not something that we should be striving for. We want God to look at us and be so proud of what we’ve accomplished for Him during this time He’s given us in this lifetime. Of course, we’re human and we have fleshly desires – WE SCREW UP! It’s part of human nature – but we can’t stay there continually screwing up.
Psalm 13:1-2 NLT (A Psalm of David) – “O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?”
Psalm 13 Continued … and with trust!
Psalm 13: 5-6 NLT – “But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because He is good to me.”
Mark 7:9, 14-15, 21-23 NLT – “(9)Then He said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold onto your own tradition”. Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. (14-15) “All of you listen,” He said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart”. (21-23) “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you”.”
So, how are we blocking God’s blessings in our life? It could be a number of things, and if we feel our blessings are being blocked, maybe we need to take a good look at our hearts, get real and ask God what in our lives we need to fix? Do we have unforgiveness in our hearts? What about lust, jealousy, envy or greed? Are we turning to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs or food before we are turning to God?
Proverbs 12:21 NLT – “Trouble chases sinners, while blessings reward the righteous.”
Deuteronomy 11:26-28 NLT – “Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from Him and worship gods you have not known before.”
We have to realize that God has such a huge plan for our lives!! Huge! Bigger and better than we could ever even think or imagine. Our biggest and best laid plans don’t even compare to what He has for us. God wants to give us infinitely more than we could ever ask or imagine! Ephesians 3:20 NLT – “Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”. Wow! I want that!
I don’t know about you, but I surely don’t want to block the Lord’s blessings in my life. I want Him to be proud of me. Sure, I screw up just like everyone else, but I am personally at a place in my life where I have laid it all down to Him and have asked Him to guide my next steps. The last few years of my life have led me to where I am today and I’ve noticed a huge shift in my life. My circle of Christian friends has grown exponentially and I’m thankful for every single one. I’m learning by example from these great friends and by asking God for wisdom what He wants me to do next.
Psalm 28:6-8 NLT – (A Psalm of David) “Praise the Lord! For He has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. The Lord gives His people strength. He is a safe fortress for His anointed king”.
Titus 2:12 NLT – “And we are instructed to turn from Godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God”.
Don’t we want the Lord’s favor? Don’t we want our hearts filled with joy? We must keep the Lord close to our hearts, allowing Him to be our strength and our shield. He will give us strength. He is a safe fortress for us, just as He was for David. Yes, David screwed up just like we do, but we have to remember that God has a plan for our lives – just as he did David. We must turn from Godless living and allow God to be first in our lives – it’s then that we will see His abundance of blessings.
So, let’s decide to click the “unblock” button and let Him back in “fully” so we can reap the full harvest He has waiting for each of us!
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*Dena*
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