“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.” (Deueronomy 28:8)
I LOVE GOD! He is amazing beyond description. There are not enough words in the English language to express how I feel this morning!
There are a few words in the Bible that should immediately draw our attention. One of those words is “shall.” This is a STRONG word. We often combine the “I will” of God and the “I shall” – sort of put them both in the same bag. However, “will” is the desire of God, what He wants for us, but the “shall” is His command for us. His “will” may be done, but His “shall” is guaranteed. It shall come to pass. Period.
In this whole passage of scripture (the first 14 verses of this chapter) God is giving His promises to the people of Israel (also to us) in response to our obedience. “If you will hear the voice of God and obey…” This passage of scripture is particularly meaningful to those of us who have taken hold of it and claim it as our own.
Some of us haven’t always been the best disciples. That brings to mind the old question, “If you were charged with being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” For years you would have questioned my walk with the Lord. I’m not proud of that, but it is what it is. Thankfully, He watched over me during those turbulent years and allowed me to come home. Even though I grew up in the church, I had never heard this passage expounded upon or preached from the pulpit. Some pastors are afraid to bring it up because it smacks of the prosperity gospel. I can assure you personally that this scripture in no way is a get-rich-quick scheme or a name-it-and-claim-it teaching. God is very clear in this passage that only when we hear His voice and obey His commands shall He command the blessing upon us.
The blessing is in no way a “home free” option from the troubles of life. It does not guarantee us a life free from struggles. In fact, Jesus was quite direct when He told His disciples that “in this world you shall have trouble, but fear not for I have overcome the world.” The blessing of God does, however, promise us that He will remain right there with us through the trouble. Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego still went into the fiery furnace. Daniel still went into the lion’s den. Noah still endured the flood. David still faced Goliath. Paul and Silas were still beaten and thrown into jail. Even John, the writer of the Book of Revelations, still was boiled alive in a pot of oil, then imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos. These all and many others faced their trials head-on rather than take a knee and deny their faith in God. So must we stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His might when facing trials in our lives. No, the blessing doesn’t guarantee us a life of leisure, but it does guarantee that we will win.
There will be more teachings about this commanded blessing on our lives in the future, but for now just know that our God reigns and we are commanded to rule and reign through Him in this world. Our King is the King of kings and Lord of lords. In other words, He Is the President of presidents, the Omar of omars, the Czar of czars, the Governor of governors – the list goes on and on. Every knee will one day be forced to kneel before Him and every tongue will one day be forced to confess He Is Lord. But these are the knees and tongues that are bound for the fires of hell. They will confess it and pay homage to Him, but only because they will have no other choice. We, as Christians, bow before Him now humbly, we gratefully confess He Is our Lord, and we rejoice that we are His children.
My prayer is that this is your confession today. Please go back and read this whole passage of Deuteronomy 28:1-14 and begin applying it in your life today.
Be blessed.
コメント