Our valuation of our blessings should also benefit from the fact that we contribute little or nothing to them. Most times, it’s God’s doing from start to finish just like the Lord Jesus illustrated in one of his parables with the farmer who planted some seed.
“He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.” – Mark 4:27 (ESV)
It’s not our place to grumble based on our understanding and expectations of size but to say, “Thank You, Lord!”
There is also a hierarchy wrongly built by some Christians based on the nature of blessings. Ever notice that most testimonies in church are about physical and material blessings? I would imagine that the story will be the same for prayer lists. Most of the topics would probably be about money, health, job, education, relationship issues …. Spiritual attainments though not often celebrated are very important and our spiritual state facilitates our receipt and sustenance of physical and material blessings. So a greater desire to know God and a closer walk with Him, for example, are not inferior to securing a multimillion Naira contract even though the latter testimony will likely gain more applause in church.
“21. Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. 22. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. 24. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. 25. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. 26. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. 27. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee … 28. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” – Job 22:21, 22, 24-28
This insight on the significance of spiritual blessings informed my thanksgiving for what God did for me in 2018 as recounted in the post below.
What matters, therefore, is having what we need when we need it, not how ‘small’ it is, and appreciating what we have even though it seems to be always available or common as we often say. Remember that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20).
I believe that God has no trouble blessing any of us with loads of cash, cars, houses and what have you. After all, the earth is His and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). But I don’t think He would do it just because we asked. He would give us what we need at the right time and viewed through His transmundane eyes, blessings aren’t reckoned as big or small but just right for the receivers. I’m not saying that God is oblivious of size or other rankings people may obsess over, like prestige or cost, but that His main consideration in apportioning blessings is none of those. Rather He considers the blessings’ appropriateness to the receivers. The same principle He uses in distributing spiritual gifts applies to everything else He furnishes us with.
“11. All of the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit. He gives them to each person, just as he decides.” – 1 Corinthians 12:11 (NIRV)
We see this played out also in the account of Jacob’s blessing of His children before his death.
“He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.” – Mark 4:27 (ESV)
It’s not our place to grumble based on our understanding and expectations of size but to say, “Thank You, Lord!”
There is also a hierarchy wrongly built by some Christians based on the nature of blessings. Ever notice that most testimonies in church are about physical and material blessings? I would imagine that the story will be the same for prayer lists. Most of the topics would probably be about money, health, job, education, relationship issues …. Spiritual attainments though not often celebrated are very important and our spiritual state facilitates our receipt and sustenance of physical and material blessings. So a greater desire to know God and a closer walk with Him, for example, are not inferior to securing a multimillion Naira contract even though the latter testimony will likely gain more applause in church.
“21. Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. 22. Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. 24. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. 25. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. 26. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. 27. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee … 28. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” – Job 22:21, 22, 24-28
This insight on the significance of spiritual blessings informed my thanksgiving for what God did for me in 2018 as recounted in the post below.
What matters, therefore, is having what we need when we need it, not how ‘small’ it is, and appreciating what we have even though it seems to be always available or common as we often say. Remember that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20).
I believe that God has no trouble blessing any of us with loads of cash, cars, houses and what have you. After all, the earth is His and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). But I don’t think He would do it just because we asked. He would give us what we need at the right time and viewed through His transmundane eyes, blessings aren’t reckoned as big or small but just right for the receivers. I’m not saying that God is oblivious of size or other rankings people may obsess over, like prestige or cost, but that His main consideration in apportioning blessings is none of those. Rather He considers the blessings’ appropriateness to the receivers. The same principle He uses in distributing spiritual gifts applies to everything else He furnishes us with.
“11. All of the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit. He gives them to each person, just as he decides.” – 1 Corinthians 12:11 (NIRV)
We see this played out also in the account of Jacob’s blessing of His children before his death.
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