Roger Bailey is sharing today from his heart as the world faces this coronavirus pandemic. Next week we will resume our series of preview lessons from the family devotional Why Do Bad Things Happen? (No affiliate links are used below.)
These are weird times with the coronavirus pandemic affecting all our lives/activities. I’d like to share some things I’ve been reading that have encouraged me. I hope they encourage you too.
“A blessing is anything that can be categorized as an expression of God’s goodness and love towards us.” (Walking With God, by Dr. Charles F. Stanley, page 168)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)
In Matthew 5:1-12 Jesus describes as blessed those who live their lives in obedience to God. Blessings and obedience go hand in hand and are tied together. Several devotions helped me put the proper perspective on blessings from God. I have included some of them here.
- When building a house or a structure of some kind, we start with a reasonably detailed plan. This plan includes the material required and a construction sequence. Obviously you don’t start by building a roof. You start with a solid foundation. Spiritually we receive blessings from God because we were first made right with Him.
In First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul describes this process of being made right with God as of first importance. “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) (Bold print emphasis added.)
This devotional describes being made right with God.
“On the basis of Christ’s death you have been declared not guilty. You have agreed that He will pay your sin debt in full. You have been reconciled–no matter how sinful you’ve been. He has brought you back into relationship with Himself, and the moment you trust Him as your Savior, He sets you apart for His purposes in life.” (Walking With God, by Dr. Charles F. Stanley, page 10)
- Sometimes we feel that our prayers are not being answered. We ask ourselves: does God even hear our prayers? The following devotionals helped me when clouds of doubt come upon me.
“You may be thinking, I’ve been obedient, and I’ve been praying, but I don’t feel blessed. It may very well be that you’ve overlooked something important. The blessings God sends don’t always take the form you expect. It depends on your situation. At times, the Holy Spirit will give you an awesome sense of peace. It may be that He gives you an overwhelming joy or an incredible feeling of contentment. Many people never think about peace, joy and contentment as blessings, but they are.” (Walking With God, by Dr. Charles F. Stanley, page 169)
“A storm can either destroy you or develop you. If you are truly submitted to God, He will use the storms you encounter in life to build your strength, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, commitment, devotion, faith, serenity, peace, and joy.” (Walking With God, by Dr. Charles F. Stanley, page 25)
- I want to leave you with God’s promises/blessings that are ours regardless of any situation we may find ourselves in here on earth.
“The Lord bless you, and keep you, the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
Related Posts
Thanks a lot Roger Bailey for the article about making things right with God by being obedient, so that I may receive from him. Thanks also for blessing me.