Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Sunday, April 17, 2016
This Week’s Devotional Focus is, “God’s Blessings.”
“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.” (Deuteronomy 28:1–2).
How can we position ourselves for the richest possible blessings available today? This seems to be on many people’s minds. There are tons of books (motivational, spiritual, and otherwise) that focus on the subject. There are self-help series, webinars, and even events scheduled costing tens of thousands of dollars, all promising to link you with great wealth, material prosperity, wisdom, etc. Televangelists promise blessings and instant wealth if you will simply pay the low, low price of [fill-in the blank] dollars to sow your seed. There are paid TV series focused on neuro-linguistic programming, self-hypnosis, and managing the energy you send out into the so-called universe to determine your level of blessings. But is there a biblical way of guaranteeing one’s blessings? If so, how can we position ourselves for the richest possible blessings available today?
How can we position ourselves for the richest possible blessings available today?
It is very interesting that even most of those who use Scripture to suggest how one might become blessed seldom mention the principles God taught His children as they prepared to go to the Promised Land. He said we are to listen diligently to God’s voice and do all He commands. This is a tall order. Listening diligently is a tall order! Most do not have that gift. Most want to talk more that we listen. However, if we accept God’s power and faith so we can indeed listen diligently to His every word and do all His commandments by faith, He promised that blessings would overtake us. Do not miss the point. He said the blessings would run us down and take hold upon us.
The key to receiving God’s richest blessings according to God’s design is keeping Him in first position in our lives and doing all He reveals in His Word and by His precious Holy Spirit as He gives us strength. By no means does this preclude us from trials. In fact, those who diligently follow the Lord wherever He leads will have trials in this world. But we are admonished to rejoice and be of good cheer, because Jesus has already overcome the world.
We will have a look at some of God’s blessings in this context this week. Get ready to believe God for and receive His richest blessings!
