What would you do if you planned and bought presents for a child -- dozens and dozens of presents -- for Christmas, only to have that child unwrap only half the gifts, and then take those and walk away? What if that child went back to the things it had previously, forgetting or ignoring the unwrapped presents, and even the rest of the presents still waiting to be unwrapped?
What if you left a generous tip for a server at a restaurant, and they saw it on the table after you left, but neglected to pick it up when the table was cleared?
Not taking the full advantages of the promises God has laid out for us in His Word has the same affect. God has so many wonderful things for us -- plans for us to "have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)" (John 10:10 AMP) There are so many blessings that we don't get to take part in just because we don't know they are available to us, and many more that we know about but don't enact in our lives personally. Identifying the promises is not enough. Unwrapping your present is not enough. You have to use it!
Dayton showed us one of his favorite verses, Proverbs 10:22 -- "The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." (ESV). He broke it down using the Strong's concordance to show that:
-- "blessing" is being solidly inside the state of being blessed,
-- "making rich" is giving the ability to accumulate, or build prosperity, and
-- "sorrow" is grievous or painful toil, otherwise known as "work" or "labor" (like the phrase "labor intensive").
"Being solidly inside the state of being blessed of the Lord gives you the ability to accumulate prosperity, and He adds no painful labor with it." How's that for an awesome promise?
Kevin likened God to a stock broker. When you have your own broker, you do your job, or what you've been called to do, and you trust your broker to take care of your finances, investments, retirement -- everything. When you let your broker take care of those things, you can focus on your calling, enjoy your free time, and relax. But when you do allow him to make those decisions in your best interest, you make his purpose nonexistence in your life, and you make your life more difficult and less enjoyable.
What are those things that you've left on the table of what God has for you? Are you allowing Him to be the stock broker of your life? Or are you override His plans and adding "painful work" to the blessings He wants for you?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Out of everything said, the whole broker concept is what stood out to me. It seems so ridiculous that God, the maker of…everything, would allow Himself to be controlled, if you will, by our words. Until we give Him access to every part of us, He’s unable to work in us as He would like to. How much sense would it make to restrict the One who has our best interests at heart? Above anyone else, we should be able to trust God and know that everything He does is done because He loves us. Yet surrendering everything can be hard – which is why we often leave gifts wrapped or unwrapped but still in their boxes. I don't want to overlook anything God has for me because I'm too busy with the things I already have, leaving His gifts in a corner. Not only am I missing out on those blessings but I think in a way it is an insult to Him. Who am I to say to God that I don't want the amazing things He has for me?
Post a Comment