Pain to Blessings

Continuing from the last message, we are going into the discussion of the practical way of experiencing God’s blessings in our lives. We saw the case of Abraham and how he received God’s  blessing in his life. Even though receiving a blessing is considered as a great feat in the biblical sense, we can also survive without receiving blessing in our life. There are many people who go through this contradiction.
 
Deuteronomy 30:19
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
We can see a choice being offered to us from this scriptural passage. God never expects us to function like robots but instead he gives us the opportunity to make decisions for ourselves. 

 In Genesis 2.16 in the Garden of Eden, Adam was given a choice; “And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

 It was optional. God did not build a tall wall or fence around the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to prevent them from eating it.

Every person living on this earth has a choice to select between life and death. God doesn’t interfere but he does give instructions and guidance. He said; “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”. But many knowingly or unknowingly, chose death/ curses in their life.
 
Proverbs 10:6 “Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.”

A person who lives a right life will wear “Blessing “ as a crown on his head
 
Ezekiel 34:26  “I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.”
 
From this passage, we can see that the heart of God always wants to bless people. And when He blesses, it is for years to come and it will be showers of blessings. God has no plan to curse man. It is man who through their disobedience brings curse upon their lives. God desires for us to experience showers of blessings in our life. We too must choose blessings and life to receive it.
 
Romans 10:12 “the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him”

We must know that God’s heart is to richly bless us. Although we don’t desire curses in our life, our negative words, thoughts and lifestyle might be such that it attracts death and curses.
 
It is those who call on God who are richly blessed. An Old Testament example of such a person is Jabez.
 
1 Chronicles 4:9-10  Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

In this passage, we see the naming of Jabez derived from the word ‘pain’ by his mother. This is seen as a negative impact in the life of Jabez. One day, Jabez cried out to His Lord which is what we read in the above verse. And God heard his prayer as He is a God who blesses those who call on Him (Romans 10.12b). God blessed Jabez and enlarged his territory. There was even a city named after him.

Every little action and thought has an effect on whether we will receive showers of blessings or curses in our lives!

Watch the full video here: