Scripture: Genesis 26 v 4 - 5: "And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries;; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the Earth be blessed:
5 because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, my laws."
Deuteronomy 28 v 2: "And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways."
Our deepest heart's desire is to be a blessing to others and to receive God's blessing and favour for ourselves and our children. It is the desire of our God that we receive His continual goodness which He bestows on us all.
There is a key to being blessed in the city, and field, and storehouse, and in everything you do and have. The key is to know the voice of God and obey it. Abraham followed precisely what God said to him. Why do we think its any different today?
If we are not hearing from God nor receiving His blessing the fault does not lie with Him. Everyone who obeys God like Abraham did, trusts God to direct their lives. Our minds and intellect are finite, not infinite as is the Father's mind. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours. The difference is of a wise man with two year old children.
How trusting are two year olds of their fathers? Totally. For everything. This is how we must be towards our Heavenly Father. No matter what befalls us, He knows the answer. He waits for us to ask, to acknowledge we need something from Him. If we have taken our needs to those in the world first, He waits until that avenue has exhausted itself, and then He turns His face towards us.
When we know His voice and walk in His steps by faith, then we can say or sing 'the blessings of Abraham are mine!' So if things are not working out in your favour day after day, year after year, somehow you have missed the voice of God or not engaged with Him correctly.
Abraham walked by faith, not by sight. When God said turn right, he turned right without arguing that it was more logical to go left. We tend to second guess God, convincing ourselves that our minds are clever enough to work out our own life directions. No matter what we see or hear in the flesh, the answer lies in Who we know. The more we know Jesus, and our Father, the more we receive. It's a relationship.
The One who continuously holds that relationship together is the Holy Spirit, our Friend, Comforter, Teacher, whose fruit and gifts bless us. The closer we get to Him the more we become like Jesus who is the prototype of the New Creation.
However, God our Father knows every pitfall, every challenge, every disobedience, every disaster that will block us from achieving our goal. If we illogically, blindly trustingly follow His directions by faith we will be steered clear of danger.
We were shown a vision from the Lord in prayer one day. It was of a minefield, so the sign said, and through this field was a red line. Jesus told us to follow the line and we would not step on the mines. The line was the Holy Bible. If we strayed away from its precepts and directions our own plans and lives would be in jeopardy.
It has proven true over the years. It just became so much easier to do it God's way. The wealth He has given us is not visible in material things but in our wonderful family and friends; our good health. He has blessed our ministry with sharing, praying, and caring with His abundant love.
The true blessing of Abraham is to be completely satisfied with what we have already been given. It's the unrealised desires that create restlessness, covetousness, lusts, which cause one to rush headlong into that minefield. When we have the peace of Jesus we hunger and thirst no more for unreachable dreams. Our life unfolds as He intends, and if dreams coming true is His desire for us, they will.
When we feel driven or compelled to achieve certain goals, then we should pause and pray for God's will to be revealed. It's the work of demons to force, drive, intimidate or compel us into vain endeavours that yield frustration, high costs, feeble gains, and hopefully loss of Faith in God. That is their aim. To distract us from that which is true and holy into following the bait that leads to worse sins.
We may achieve our goals but it may not bring the expected reward. When we need ruthless ambition to step on people's heads to grab the brass ring, pause and ask: is that what Jesus would do? He was lowly and never exalted Himself. The Jews wanted Him to take Israel back from the Romans by force but He withdrew from them and refused.
We never know when we choose to ignore our Saviour's voice if we are going to lose the blessings His love gives us. Every blessing from God comes with that condition attached: if we do things God's way we get the promises of God in His time. If we choose our way over His way, sudden calamity may be necessary to bring us back to His way. Jesus said that it is better to arrive blind or lame in His Kingdom than stay whole but be in the only other alternative.
We have a free will to make our own choices. Sometimes that freedom needs to be examined more closely so we see the fine print. The fine print, in this case, is every word that comes out of the mouth of God. The Holy Bible is the inspired word of God, written by men to inform us of what He considers the norm. We must conform to it and be enlightened by it to be successful in God's eyes. The Biblical norm is totally opposite to the norms of this world. When you know this for a fact your life has changed for the better.
Jesus cannot stop every problem but He promises to be with us to resolve them all. When He is in full control we never need to worry about anything. If we are filled with the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead He will bring life to our mortal body. This divine life within us stops Satan in his tracks.
The blessings of Abraham protects us from plagues and other horrible diseases or heals us if we fall victim. Read Deuteronomy 28 which is about the Blessings of obedience and the Curses of disobedience. To be free of worry about disease we must walk in the divine light of Jesus all the time. The whole chapter of Deuteronomy 28 gives us God's mind on how He expects us to be.
The more time we spend in the presence of Jesus, even two or three believers will find Him in their midst, the greater the coffers full of blessings they will enjoy. I would not exchange the great spiritual treasures that I have enjoyed for anything this world could offer. Mine eyes have seen the glory and desire nothing further.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for causing Your Word to be written down for all to know Your precepts and commands. Even more we are grateful that we can hear Your voice directing us day by day through the dangers of this world. Your love is mighty O Lord and Your protection is awesome, as long as we obey You and stay close to Your heart. Help us never to stray. We thank You that the blessings You bestowed on faithful Abraham are available to us today by faith in Jesus' name. Amen.