How Has God Blessed You?

Have you counted your blessings lately? If you sincerely wish to follow in Christ's footsteps, you should make thanksgiving a habit, a regular part of your daily routine.

How has God blessed you? First and foremost, He has given you the gift of eternal life through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, but the blessings don't stop there.

Throughout the Bible, God has demonstrated His love for His people and He did this by promising to bless them.

I recall how God promised to bless Abraham, the father of our faith. He told Abraham to leave his home, his father's house and go to a land He would show him. By being obedient to God's calling, God promised to bless Abraham and his family. God also told Abraham that He would bless those who bless him and curse those who cursed him. God promised that all peoples on earth would be blessed through Abraham. He also promised through Abraham's seed to make him into a great nation and to make his name great. (Genesis 12:1-3)

We too are blessed through this blessing that God gave Abraham. We are descendants of Abraham and therefore, we are recipients of this blessing.

God will bestow a multitude of blessings on those who render Him the one demand of absolute trust, complete obedience, and total surrender. A life of faith, obedience, and total surrender results in manifold blessing. What are these blessings?

First, there is blessing to the individual who obeys God. Second, there is blessing for that person's family. Third, we bring blessing to the nation, just as Abraham brought blessing to Israel. Fourth, we bring blessing to all the peoples of the earth.

The Sovereign of God of glory fulfilled His promises to Abraham based on his obedience. Not only does this God of glory demand absolute faith, He also enables us to trust Him. God Himself regenerates us and gives us the gift of saving faith so we will rise up, take up our cross, and follow Him.

Ezekiel 34:26 says, "I will make them and the area around My hill a blessing: I will send down showers in their season---showers of blessings."

Take time today to make a partial list of God's gifts to you: the talents, the opportunities, the possessions, and the relationships that you may, on occasion, take for granted. And then, when you have spent sufficient time listing your blessings, offer a prayer of gratitude to the Giver of all things good...and, to the best of your ability, use your gifts for the glory of His kingdom.

Thought for Today: We don't need to beg God to bless us; He simply cannot help it.