Some blessings from God are undeniable, His goodness abounds. However, some blessings we may miss if we are not focusing on Him. Some are found in unexpected places.
A baby! My sister-in-law just had a beautiful baby. I haven’t even seen him yet and I know he is beautiful. He is a gift from God, how could he be anything else.
A new job! My husband recently got a new job that he hadn’t even been looking for but it has afforded him so much opportunity in such a short period of time.
An “A”! My daughter is a college sophomore and is finishing up another semester with top grades. So much to be thankful for. Abundant blessings from God.
…because of the God of your father, who will help you, because of the sovereign God, who will bless you with blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.
Genesis 49:25
But what about “Mommy my ear hurts!” or “You aren’t doing enough Heather. I think you can do a better job.” Are these blessings? Could they be? Yes, I think they could be. Maybe not in the moment, but they can be.
Last year I got a “neutral” evaluation at work. I have never had anything but a stellar review in 20+ years. It was very hard to hear. I wanted to fuss, make excuses, blame others. But the truth is that I was working with no joy for what I was doing. I wasn’t blessing others so I didn’t deserve to be blessed. What I did deserve was a wake up call that made me draw closer to God. My Heavenly Father was there in my time of need. He pressed upon me to pray. I could hear His voice in my head so clearly, “Talk to Me. Let Me be a part of your life.”
Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.
Matthew 21:21
No mom ever wants their child to be hurt or sick. So how can “Mommy my ear hurts!” be a blessing? First it is another opportunity to pray. Invite God into the situation. Second, it gives everyone a chance to slow down. Even if it is only for the day, those snuggles, time to play together, and just a moment to relax are precious gifts. Blessings.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
I don’t want you to think I believe God allows bad things to happen. I categorically denounce that idea. Satan is alive and well in our world, sin runs rampant. Bad things, unspeakable things happen. But God is there. He will hold you and tighten His hold to help you get through. You will never be alone…and that is the true blessing.
‘no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,’ declares the Lord.
Isaiah 54:17
You have heard “when the world hands you lemons make lemonade.” That is what God wants from us. Make a life that glorifies Him, invite Him into the brokenness. He will sweeten your experience and love you through it all.
My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me.
Jeremiah 17:7
Dear God,
Bless our hearts. Attune them to your voice. Let Your love surround us and tighten in our times of need. Thank You for always being there for us. You are my best friend because in You I find my truest and best self. Thank you for that blessing.
Love,
me
All scripture used is from the New International Version.
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Even in the difficult times, God is pursuing us and longs to pour blessings upon us.
There have been so many times that I have looked back on events and been able to see the blessing and God’s hand. How He was able to bring glory, His glory, to the situations.
I am trying to see God’s glory more in my everyday day life. It’s easy in retrospect but sometimes more difficult in the moment.
The blessings of the Lord makes rich, and adds no sorrow to it. Provb.10:22. Sometimes when we have all we need we forget him, and He chastises us so that we can return to him.That is a blessing too, though we may not find it comfortable.
Sometimes being uncomfortable is definitely a blessing.
I needed to read this today! My whole family has been sick for a week with the flu and I needed to see a different perspective. Thank you so much for helping me to see things differently!
You are so welcome. I am glad you found God’s blessing here. Prayers for healing for you and your family. Take care of yourself and rest.
I absolutely agree with you that God doesn’t ordain bad things but boy He helps me get through them.
Amen! He is my anchor when the turbulence of life seems unbearable. He holds me steady till the storm passes.
We forget to find the blessing in the hard, don’t we? And yet a blessing is always there! Thank you for the encouraging post!
Your so welcome!
Or rather “You’re so welcome.”
I am so there. Our family is going through a lot of lemon moments, but with God’s help, instead of being sour, we have been drinking a lot of lemonade.
Prayers for you and your family to continue to find the sweetness and blessings in the difficult.
Your faith is evident! It’s so easy to see our circumstances as good or bad, but when we are aligned with God, we understand that He works everything for our good. So we give our circumstances to Him through prayer, fasting, and giving. We give Him our confidence and trust to help us, even if that means we need to be rebuked because it makes us more like Him! Thank you for sharing this inspiring post:)
You are welcome! Thank you for the comments. It is the answer to the prayer I pray every time I sit down and write.
My sister taught me to turn everything around into something to be thankful for. It helps to change the way we see our lives.
I agree with your sister. It is a lesson I recently had renewed when I read Choosing Gratitude by Nancy DeMoss. Might be something to write about in a future post.
God’s blessings are all around us. Such a great reminder to proactively seek to see His blessing even when we might be hurting.
God’s blessings surround us and engulf us. That is worth praising and sharing.