Blessings
This is another guest devotion from brother Allen Blankenship. Enjoy.
And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.
Deuteronomy 28:2
Life to me has always been an adventure. By working for myself for most of my life, I wake up every morning unemployed. Living that way could have been very bothersome if I didn't feel God's hand of protection and provision daily. But by being self willed and not making God a priority, I didn't access the blessings that were available to me though. I want to clarify... blessings that were available were not owed to me. If it wasn't for grace and we got what is owed to us, not one person would see heaven.
Speaking from my own experience, God is definitely long-suffering. When things were good and I was busy, my priorities would get out of alignment. Just like the Israelites, when things were bad I would turn to God and once everything was back to good, I would place Him farther from the top of my list. One day I came to an impasse and knew that not only did I need to make God the number one priority but that He had to remain there. The best lessons in life many times are learned through pain, whether it is financial, physical,or emotional. Struggles in life cause us to focus on finding a solution. Fortunately for Christians the solution to every problem is focusing on the ONE that created us and everything and since He created it all, doesn't stand to reason that He can control it all.
We can learn so much from the Isrealites and their actions. They could have reached The Promised Land 40 years sooner if it wasn"t for their disobedience. Their blessings were delayed because they didn"t make God a priority. God can't bless a nation nor a person that only acknowledges Him when they have a problem. How many blessings are missed in our lives because of disobedience?
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Matthew 5;6
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.