The Receiving is the Blessing!
Written by Susan on 10/05/2016
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Blessings, God, Holy Spirit
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
Ephesians 1:3-4
God has already done it all!
If God has already provided all of His spiritual blessings for us, how do we get those blessings? Ephesians 1:3-4 and 2 Peter 1:3 say we have what we need already. “We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness.” His provision is here – now. We need to understand and use the blessings He has provided. How do we do that?
How do we receive blessings from God?
You receive God’s blessings from His spirit. We must remember that spiritual blessings aren’t usually what we picture. The purpose of spiritual blessing are to make us “holy and blameless.” You have to know what pleases God before you can put His spiritual blessings into practice.
The “Fruit of the Spirit” is a great example of this: “God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled…” (Galatians 5:22-23) I Corinthians 13:4-8a tells us “Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” Do you want to love like that? You can! But it is not the fruit of your own heart. It is poured out by God’s Spirit. It is literally His fruit.
God’s Work, God’s Way
Think of it this way: if you own a business, paying all its expenses, you would not let your business sell a product people should not have. In the same way, God’s promised blessings are for living the life that pleases Him, not a life that opposes Him. Living by faith (1 John 5:4) means understanding what pleases God (Ephesians 5:10) and counting on Him to “hold back nothing good from those who walk in the way that is right.” (Psalm 84:11)
Pray this week:
Will you pray this week: Help me to begin to see Your provision of blessing in my area of greatest need. Make me able to see Your blessings in my life, and not lean on my perceptions.
Have you thanked God for His very specific presence in your life today? He is present, are you choosing Him over all else today?
Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member