Bless ya!
What is a blessing?
What shape does it have?
Is it "one size fits all"?
Some blessings are blessings for everyone. Salvation through faith in Christ and the cross is one. It is THE one.
Some blessings (maybe even all the ones apart from salvation) belong to the category "relative truth". They come in different shapes and colors. And they are tailor made for certain people. The difficulty is sometimes recognizing them. What we expect as a blessing may show up in a different way and then it's: "What do I do now?" (Wyle Coyote knows something about it -- see the link below)
Let's be careful when we decide certain things are blessings and certain others are not. Never underestimate the power of God.
Is it a blessing to be hungry?
Is it a blessing to be in such pain all you can do is cry?
Is it a blessing to be hated?
Is it a blessing to be poor?
Is it a blessing to have lost someone dear and grieve?
Is it a blessing to be persecuted?
Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
Blessed are ye, when men hate you...
(Luke 6)
Blessed are the poor in spirit..
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven..
(Matthew 5)
All these things a lot of times are perceived by us as attacks from the enemy and we can fail to see the spin God puts on them. Not everything is an attack. Not everything is a curse. Not even those things that sure feel like it.
God is definitely thinking "out of the box"!
May He always BLESS us. And may we always be ready to accept even those blessings that come in a different size, color and shape than we expect.
posted by Nat @ 10:34 AM
3 Comments:
ahh....I just read this one. I guess you, too, decided that the Be-Yo_Attitudes were worth another look. I've been all over them this month...
You know, I think that a milk cow would be a blessing...and I bet not everyone sees that one.
I also think that a little baby would be a blessing....in my house....at my breast...on my lap...and I bet not everyone sees that one either.
A week or two of starvation might be a blessing for me. I could stand to be hungry for once. I might find a blessedness I've never known...and I do mean NEVER. I've only had hungry moments..and right off hand, I can't even remember one of those.
I've never been poor either...at least not monetarily. Perhaps having nothing but God to depend on and look toward would be the biggest blessing of all....but will I ever know that one either?
I'm starting to believe that if I stay here, in America, where I am right now, I'll miss all these blessings somehow.
Where do you suggest I go?
Well, you got me on the cow thing.. I have a hard time considering that a blessing. It wouldn't be for me. (However my friend Sheila has a very interesting spin on owning a cow.. I'll send you her blog address and look under "Rosemary the cow")
A baby -- always a blessing.
Starving and hunger.. never tried those. Incompatible with cow-owning. :)
Lack of money.. I know something about that, but never to the degree of not having food on the table or a roof over my head..
And still, Jesus says that whoever experiences those things is blessed. Now, are they blessed because things will change or are they blessed because they're in the midst of those things? Either way there is a blessing attached to those situations that don't seem to be attached to other ones (see rich people and camels)..
Regarding the going part.. Oh well, my heart is set on Europe and you know that, even though Europe doesn't seem to fit the starving continent profile. Sarajevo and surrounding areas could come closer though. Let's think about it. I bet my cousin would be ecstatic if we put together a group and went help his church in whatever way. And I would love to share with you some of my background. Florence would have to be our next stop.
Gotta go.
And thanks for reading my ramblings.
Okay. Maybe Sarajevo..but first, I have to learn to spell it without looking.
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