Chased By God's Blessings

God’s blessings are like that. No matter what we receive from the Lord there is always the knowledge that God has more in store than we have received. No matter how much we accomplish for him, and for his kingdom, we are always left with a hunger to do more, to know him more, and to be more like him. God’s blessings are truly limitless and it is up to each of us, individually, to either receive them or lose them, depending upon our own willingness to be all that God wants us to be, or to do our own will rather than his will.

Look at what God promises for Israel and let’s see just how great God is, and what he wants to do for those who serve him.

Deuteronomy 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

Deuteronomy 28:2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

What a great promise this is from the Lord! As we are running through life, trying to get all we can out of life, the blessings of the Lord are always coming our way. It’s not that we earned them, but because of God’s great love he sends them to us just because he wants to.

I want us to know that receiving the blessings of God are always conditional. First, we have to listen carefully and follow God’s commandments fully. We must live in the manner that God prescribes, obey his Word and live for Jesus with all our heart. God didn’t say that we could just live the way we wanted and then expect his blessings to come upon us.

I know that the Bible tells us that God sends the rain upon both the saint and the sinner alike, but I’m convinced that the amount of rain that each receives is dependent upon whether he is prepared to receive it or not. God is no respecter of persons. He loves all men the same, but not all receive his love; and not all who do receive his love into their hearts do so in an equal manner. That’s why we must listen closely and diligent about hearing the voice of the Lord. If you want God’s best, then you have to give him your best. If you want to live a life of a mediocre Christian you can do that too, but beware lest you are counted as being lukewarm.

God’s promises have been true for every nation, not just for Israel; and God’s promises have held true for every man or woman who will serve him with all their heart.

Israel was truly blessed as long as the Jews were obedient, but when they fell into idolatry, the blessings were turned to curses upon their nation. I can see that same pattern in America today as well. Our own nation has been so blessed by God because we were founded upon great principles of faith and worship of God. But those blessings in our nation are turning into curses because we have begun to forsake God.

Can I tell you that this same pattern exists in each of us individually as well? As long as we listen and obey the Lord, his blessings overtake us and come upon us, but when a Christian begins to backslide, those blessings stop coming and suddenly many things begin to go wrong. Instead of seeing what is really happening and turning back to God, we often blame God for our troubles and go further from him, and the further we go, the greater the curses will come.