When we think of God’s blessings, our minds often conjure up happy relationships, being financially secure, enjoying life, having good health and similar things. Those certainly are blessings, but are those the only way God blesses us? What about all the disappointments, challenges, failures and heartaches we face in life? Does blessing only come in what we consider good because it makes life happier and easier? Or could there be blessings in the things God withholds and the suffering He allows? If God is sovereign over everything, and all things work together for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20), then aren’t even the trials and pains we face blessings? If His goal is to make us like Jesus (Romans 8:29) and He is committed to our growth (Philippians 1:6), then we miss many blessings because they are uncomfortable and stretch our faith. Some of God’s best blessings to us are the things He withholds.
THE BLESSING OF A HEALTH PROBLEM. God has blessed me with good health, but there have been a time or two He’s blessed me with a serious health scare. I see them now as blessings because they catapulted my prayer life and faith to another level. They gave me a better appreciation for my wife and the time we have together. They made me more aware of God in my life. And as the seriousness of the issue faded, the blessings continued. Can you identify?
THE BLESSING OF WITHHOLDING SOMETHING YOU WANT. Maybe God knows something you don’t and is doing what you’d do if you knew all He knows. What parents hasn’t had to withhold something a child wanted because they knew it wouldn’t be good for them. Or maybe God is withholding something now because the timing isn’t right. Barren Hannah went years without a child until she finally got desperate and poured out her heart to God. God gave her a son, Samuel, who was instrumental in the future of Israel (1 Samuel 1:20). All those years, Hannah thought God was withholding a baby from her. God wasn’t saying “no,” He was really saying, “Wait, I have something far better for you than what you asked for.” Hannah just wanted to be a mom, but God wanted so much more for Hannah. Hannah wanted a baby that was all hers, but God wanted Hannah to be all His. Sometimes, God’s “no” isn’t really “no” after all. It’s “not yet.” Trust Him in the withholding because He may be waiting to bless your life with something far better than you have asked for.” Timothy Keller said, “God will only give you what you would have asked for if you knew everything He knows.” Can you recognize with this in your life?
THE BLESSING OF BEING HURT BY A FRIEND. Proverbs 27:6 tells us, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” If you have a friend who tells you what you don’t want to hear, but what you truly need to hear in order to help you grow spiritually and emotionally, that is a blessing. If you have a misunderstanding with a friend who wounded you, you have an opportunity to work that out with your friend and become even closer to one another. Even if the relationship can’t be restored, lessons can be learned, sensitivity to others who are hurting developed, insight to share with those going through the same thing grows and going to God with the hurts brings you closer to Him. All those are blessings. Has this happened to you?
THE BLESSING OF FINANCIAL PROBLEMS. No one likes to have financial difficulties, but they drive us closer to God and we discover that He is faithful to provide or to give us grace to make it through. If you are praying for finances, add to that prayer thankfulness for the deeper dependence on God that has developed as you trust Him. Has God ever done that in your life?
THE BLESSING OF CLOSED DOORS. We love opportunities and want open doors continually, don’t we? But many times, God is the only One who truly knows where those doors lead, where we’ll be in another six months or five years down the road if we walked through that “wonderfully exciting open door.” So, He closes them sometimes for our own protection and to spare us from what we can’t see. Psalm 84:11 promises: “No good thing will he withhold from those who uprightly.” And James 1:17 tells us, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” If God isn’t doing something you think He should, trust His wisdom and consider it a blessing. What doors has God closed in your life?
THE BLESSING OF ‘LITTLE THINGS.’ We are often guilty of looking for God in the grand and miraculous, the emotional and impressive acts which He sometimes does. But when we just look for these we miss the little, daily things He continues to bless us with. Such as life. And breath. Or maybe a smile or kind word from someone. It may be a beautiful sunset or the song of a bird. It could be a random act of kindness done for you, or something funny to laugh at. How many times has He done that for you?
It’s not always what happens in life, it’s how you view it. Instead of looking for the bad in things, look for the good. God promises to use all things for good. That doesn’t mean they are all good, or become good, but that God uses them to bring good in your life. Can you see that in your life?
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Ask God to help you see His blessing in the negative things in your life now and in the past. Thank Him for them.
SAME BOOKS IN INDIA AS AFRICA: When I wrote the 16 books we use as the basis of our library and training curriculum the audience was men and women who were called to serve God but had no opportunity for good, biblically sound training. My purpose was to explain God’s plan and purpose for churches and their leaders. I wanted to make clear what God’s Word said about serving and leading churches. I did not want to tell them how to do it, just he basic principles God laid out so they could apply them to their local culture. I especially didn’t want to impose on them the way we do church in the USA – not that there is anything wrong with it, but because they are different people in diverse circumstances. I never imagined my books would be used in Africa as well as India, but clearly God knew that all along. Pray God would continue to spread their availability, motivate owners to read them and accurately apply what they learned to their lives.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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