Made for More: What Does the Bible Say? {Blessings}

Shreds of wrapping paper litter the floor.  Tissue paper is scattered about among empty bags.  Cardboard boxes would be in the pile too, except they've magically become rocketships and boats and castles.

It's Christmas morning, and all the presents have been opened.  Secret Santas revealed.  Gifts given.  Pictures taken.  Kodak memories captured on film.  

Laughter.

Smiles.

Joy.

Peace.

We take delight in blessing others.  As a mom, I find more satisfaction in watching my 3 young children open their presents than I do in opening my own.  I get more from GIVING than I do RECEIVING.  In fact, while I enjoy searching for the perfect gift for someone else and look forward in anticipation to their reaction when they open the present I carefully picked out, I almost dread being on the other end of the situation.  I am not one to make a long wish list of items I want for Christmas or my birthday or Mother's Day or any other special occasion that would seem to warrant the need for me to receive a gift.  I am not sure why exactly I feel this way, but something inside of me whispers to my heart that I am not worthy, that I don't deserve anything, that I'm being selfish to take things from others, that I'm no one special to think I should be honored or appreciated in such a way.

Of course these are all lies from the pit of hell.  Satan is up to his nasty tricks, as usual.  He's doing his best to convince me that I haven't done enough to earn this love.  And in so doing, he also twists my view of God and distorts the way I look at my relationship with Him.  He gets me to believe that I am not worthy of God's love, that I don't deserve any special treatment.  I am learning to block those flaming arrows and am becoming quite confident in God's deep love for me (as I wrote about in the posts You Are Loved and HESED).  However, I am still learning how to wield my shield of faith (Ephesians 6) as I battle Satan's constant attacks on my heart.  I still grapple with the idea that God not only loves me but wants to BLESS me.  And not just here and there on holidays marked on the calendar, but every single day.  And not just with an obligatory present or two, but rather with one lavish gift after another from His storehouse of abundant riches.

I have taken Satan's lies for truth for so long that I didn't even realize my mistake, until recently when numerous dear friends, godly men and women whom I respect to the utmost, started to share with me the reality that God LONGS to bless His children.  Me included.  I was taken aback by their "health and wealth gospel" claims and immediately put up a wall, doing my best to keep these false teachings out of my life and guard my heart from these misrepresentations of God's Word.  I quickly stacked bricks and tried to build a sturdy fortress, but I found my work was in vain as the walls began to crumble around me.  Something wasn't right.  Either they were wrong, or - much more unlikely in my mind - I was.  Instead of sticking to my guns and relying on what I thought to be the undeniable truth, I decided to do some investigating.  I asked questions.  I took a second, and third and fourth, look at my beliefs.  And most importantly, I started digging into Scripture to see what God Himself says about His DESIRE to bless me, the way He DELIGHTS in POURING out His love on me, the JOY He finds in watching me receive His love, and the ULTIMATE PURPOSE He has in showering me with His riches.

Maybe you don't struggle with this concept of God blessing His children.  Maybe you're looking at me wondering how long I've been like an ostrich with her head stuck in the sand.  Maybe you figured out this whole "God loves you" thing in its entirety long ago and have been enjoying the freedom and joy that comes along with that understanding.

Or maybe you're on the other end of the spectrum and beginning to think I have lost my mind, that I have gone off the deep end and am becoming more like a fortune teller who promises a life of peace and prosperity that sounds far too good to be true.

Or maybe you're somewhere in the middle, interested in learning more and curious to see for yourself what God truly says about this subject that everyone seems to have quite the opinion on and can stir up a good deal of emotions in the process.

I'm not one to push the envelope.  I actually hate conflict and will do just about anything to avoid it.  However, in this case, I feel compelled to shed some light on what I believe has been shrouded in a cloud of gray fog for far too long.  I don't think Satan is too happy about what I am going to share because in so doing we are going to expose him for the LIAR he really is...

Let's not waste any more time!  Let's pretend we're little kids on Christmas morning and rip open the marvelous gifts God has for us in His Word.  I don't think He'll mind if we make a mess in the process...

Deuteronomy 6 may seem like a strange place to start our journey, but seeing as how it is the foundation of the Israelite nation's relationship with God, I thought it was quite fitting for us as well.  I invite you to read the entire chapter, not just the select verses I am sharing here:

These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”

From the get-go, God promised to bless His children.  If they would obey His commands and keep His covenant, He promised not only to give them long life, but also that things would go well with them, that they would increase greatly, that they might always prosper.  Sounds pretty good to me.  

To make sure they understood He was serious about His desire to bless them as they entered the Promised Land, God had Joshua repeat His commitment to them.  His message is two-fold, however, as we are challenged to take God at His word and daily live in response to it:

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Again, we can see that God is FOR His people, that He wants want is best for them, that He wants them to be successful.  It would seem that God is all about BLESSING His children.  These verses are pretty straight forward.  Clear cut.  So why have we muddled things up?  How come we always try to make things more complicated than they really are?

That would be Satan, right there.  That would be him sneaking into our hearts and minds.  That would be him causing us to question God's goodness.  That would be him stirring up doubt and making us think twice about what God has really told us.  We see the first instance of him doing his dirty work in the Garden of Eden, slithering his way up to Eve appearing all nice and friendly when in reality he was winding himself around her heart and preparing to suck the life from her, and her oblivious husband Adam too.  His death grip caught them off guard, just as it so often does you and me.  Like the proverbial frog in the pot of boiling water, we don't notice we're in danger until it's far too late...

We are all probably quite familiar with the story of Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the forbidden tree. (In case you're not or if you want to read it again to look at it from a new angle, check it out here!)  We have probably rolled our eyes at their mistake, assuring ourselves we would have done things differently.  We wouldn't have.  We would have fallen too.  At least I would have.  Satan is just that good at what he does.  And he's only gotten better at making his lies sound like truth since that fateful day when our ancestors fell for his tricks.  Thankfully, the story doesn't end with our defeat.  Rather, Satan comes out the loser.  He does his best to make us forget that though and works his scaly tail off every single day to distract us from the reality of his demise and our victory.  He does everything within his power to turn our eyes from God's Word, to close our ears to what God has for us to hear and to bombard us with lies that sound just close enough to the Truth that we don't realize what He's up to.  

That's why we are going to turn back to Scripture right now and tear into some more precious treasures God has wrapped up for us, just waiting for us to discover them and BELIEVE them in our heart of hearts!

One of my favorites as of late is Psalm 37.  This gem of a passage has played a critical role in helping me shift my way of thinking and open my eyes to the TRUTH of God's love for me, a love that includes a DESIRE to BLESS His children.  Including me.  Including YOU.

3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

23 The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

25 I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
    or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
    their children will be a blessing.

27 Turn from evil and do good;
    then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the Lord loves the just
    and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[c];
    the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
    and dwell in it forever.

34 Hope in the Lord
    and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
    when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
    flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
    though I looked for him, he could not be found.

37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;    a future awaits those who seek peace.

I hope you see the connection between the promises David penned here and the words Moses and Joshua spoke back in the first passages we studied in the Old Testament.  In Deuteronomy and Joshua, we saw how God was committed to bless His people if they obeyed Him.  Here in Psalms, we see the same principle truth, worded a slightly different way:

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  

Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Before you start to think I am saying God is like a genie in a bottle who grants your every wish (or even your top 3), go back and read a blog I posted in February earlier this year.  "Whatever Your Little Heart Desires" addresses this misconception and focuses on the truth being taught here in these verses.

And just to make sure I'm not taking this one passage out of context, let's dig deeper into the Word to see how often God repeats this same promise over and over and over again.  He must know we're more like our kids than we care to admit.  I mean, I don't know about you, but I find myself wanting to pull my hair out as I ask my young children every five minutes, "How many times do I have to tell you ___________?!"  Fill in the blank, and I'm sure you've had a similar frustration.  At least I hope I'm not alone.

Because I tend to like organization and order and structure, let's go back to the beginning and work our way through God's Word from Genesis to Revelation.  Our believe our journey will help us see not only how much God loves us, but how much He DELIGHTS in BLESSING us...

In Genesis 26, we see God reminding Isaac of His promise to his father Abraham, "23 From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, 24 where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.”25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well."

If you were to do an in-depth Bible study you would find countless examples of God blessing His people and pointing them back to His initial promise to bless their forefather Abraham.  And even if you're not Jewish (I'm not), you are part of this special blessing God pours out on His people.  Paul outlines this very clearly in Ephesians, and I invite you to read the whole chapter for yourself.  I'm simply sharing a small portion of his letter here, in chapter 1:

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding."

I've gotten ahead of myself, though.  Let's go back to the Old Testament and open God's presents for us in order.  Psalm 5 speaks of God's unfailing love and invitation to dwell in His presence.  David ends the passage with this precious reminder, "For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love."

Just a few chapters later, we see again how David writes of the opportunity for us to enter into God's presence and enjoy Him (remember we are to delight in God Himself if we expect Him to give us the desires of our heart, for as we find satisfaction in Him, our hearts are truly full and overflowing with joy and peace and all things good).  Psalm 24:5, "They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.  Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob."

Yet again, this time in Psalm 67, David speaks of God blessing His people.  He bookends the chapter with this amazing truth, "May God be merciful and bless us.  May his face smile with favor on us.   Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear him."

Lest we think David was the only Old Testament character to understand God's great delight in blessing His people, let's see what several famous prophets have to say on the subject:

Isaiah 29:22-24, "22 That is why the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel,

“My people will no longer be ashamed
    or turn pale with fear.
23 For when they see their many children
    and all the blessings I have given them,
they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob.
    They will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Then the wayward will gain understanding,
    and complainers will accept instruction."

Micah 7:18-20, 

Where is another God like you,
    who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
    overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
    because you delight in showing unfailing love.
19 Once again you will have compassion on us.
    You will trample our sins under your feet
    and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
20 You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love
    as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.

Zephaniah 3,

16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be,
    “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!
17 For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

18 “I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals;
    you will be disgraced no more.
19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you.
    I will save the weak and helpless ones;
I will bring together
    those who were chased away.
I will give glory and fame to my former exiles,
    wherever they have been mocked and shamed.
20 On that day I will gather you together
    and bring you home again.
I will give you a good name, a name of distinction,
    among all the nations of the earth,
as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!”

I hope you are seeing how God not only points back to His promise to Abraham time and time again, but also to His commitment to bless His people as they live in obedience to Him.  He assures them of His presence with them, even when it may seem like He is nowhere to be found.  He has them look past their present situation and focus on the glorious future awaiting them as they continue to trust Him and follow Him, wherever He may lead.  

This same concept is seen in the New Testament as well.  Jesus Himself declared God's desire to bless His people.  One of His most famous sermons is recorded in Matthew 5, and we see the word "bless" no less than 10 times in the first 12 verses of the passage.  

3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,[a]
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 God blesses those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
5 God blesses those who are humble,
    for they will inherit the whole earth.
6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,[b]
    for they will be satisfied.
7 God blesses those who are merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
    for they will see God.
9 God blesses those who work for peace,
    for they will be called the children of God.
10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way."

By now, I don't think we can deny that God is a God who WANTS to bless His children.  I should have understood this truth the moment I became a mother.  I delight in my children's joy.  Seeing my little girls smile and laugh gives me great pleasure.  I enjoy nothing more than knowing they are having a good time.  I get more satisfaction out of their happiness than I do from any physical possession I own or any tangible item given to me.  If I desire to bless my children, then why would God not be the same way?  After all, He is the perfect parent (and I am definitely far from being an award-winning mom, myself).  Jesus Himself tried to tell us this, but I guess I wasn't listening all that well...

In Luke 11, He is teaching about prayer, specifically about ASKING God for His presence and blessing in our lives.  After sharing a story about a persistent neighbor knocking on a door in the middle of night and not leaving until he has a loaf of bread in hand, He reminds us that God is a much better parent than any of us will ever be, "9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

God is not begruding in His blessing us either.  He doesn't get mad or upset when we ask Him to work in our lives.  He doesn't roll His eyes or shake His head or sigh in annoyance when we come to Him to make a request.  He doesn't get frustrated at how often we need Him or shake His fist at us when we come to Him for help, yet again.  Quite the opposite.  He takes PLEASURE in us.  He DELIGHTS in us.  He LONGS for us to spend time with Him.  He has invited us to come and WAITS EAGERLY for us to take Him up on His offer, as we see in the story of the Prodigal Son.  

We see also in James how willing God is to bless us,

"5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession."

Peter further confirms how God showers us with His blessings so that we might live for Him and bring Him massive amounts of glory,

3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence. he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.   10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. 11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

That sounds like a pretty amazing promise to me, one from an extremely generous God who loves you more than you could ever know and longs to bless your socks off!

While His blessings here on this earth are out of this world, the ultimate gift is yet to come.  Revelation 21 speaks of God's final and completely outrageous blessing for those who have accepted His invitation to let Him into their lives,

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children."

While I am still trying to get my mind around the truth that God does indeed WANT to bless me, both here on earth and then forever and ever for all eternity, I can no longer believe the lies Satan had convinced me were true.  I am taking down my wall I was so carefully trying to build, for I discovered it was only preventing me from entering God's presence and enjoying all the wonderful gifts He has prepared for me.  I hope you too were able to see in Scripture how God truly DELIGHTS in blessing His children, including YOU.  I hope you will take God at His word and allow Him the freedom to pour out His generosity and abundant grace in every area of your life.  I pray you are beginning to believe God loves you, that He deeply DESIRES a relationship with you, that you are MADE FOR SO MUCH MORE than this world has to offer...

As you ponder this seemingly unbelievable truth, listen to the words of this song and let God tear down any walls you may have built, open the door to your heart and let Him come in, let Him sit with you.  And then just look into His beautiful face...

You're Beautiful by Phil Wickham

6 

I was quite surprised at what I found, though I should have real