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God's Bountiful Blessings!
Andrea Lende • September 17, 2021
Genesis 17:15-16
God’s Bountiful Blessings!
You can listen to the devotion and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/Gods-Bountiful-Blessings-e17gi8v
Genesis 17:15-16
“And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai; but Sarah [Princess] her name shall be.”
“And I will bless her and give you a son also by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
I love our passage today partly because I love princess stories.
God told Abraham He was going to bless his wife.
He was going to bless her with a son, and she would be the mother of nations.
Kings would be born through her lineage.
And if that weren’t enough, she would be a princess.
Her new name, Sarah, identified her as such.
The first princess of mankind.
A truly beautiful story.
I think it’s beautiful because Sarai had fallen short and sinned and yet, the Lord was still going to bless her.
She had become impatient to have a child.
In her seventies, she told Abraham to take her maid so she could finally raise a child.
But when the baby was born, Sarai found herself filled with hatred.
Even inside of falling short of God’s best, the Lord was determined to bless her.
He not only blessed her with a child but ordained her as a princess.
I am blessed by this passage today because sometimes I feel I am too old, worn, tired, and sinful for the Lord to bless me.
But when I read about God’s grace and His pursuit to bless others, I am thankful.
Thankful I don’t have to be perfect in order for the Lord to desire to bless me.
Thankful God can bless me even in the face of my failures.
No matter how undeserving we may feel, God’s desire to bless His children doesn’t change.
So, today I choose to receive God’s blessings even when I don’t feel worthy of them.
May you find the Lord has many blessings to bestow upon you and is waiting for you to receive them.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for showing me You are a God who desires to bless His children. Thank You for showing me I do not have to be perfect in order to receive Your blessings. Father, take away the shame of my sins and help me receive all the wondering blessings You desire to give me. Help me fully receive Your Holy Spirit. Help me receive the spiritual gifts You desire me to have. And help me use those gifts to serve others. Keep my spirit humble and lowly and help me seek to serve before being served. Help me do all that You ask me to do, Father. Strengthen and equip me in every way to do Your will. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I AM the Great I AM, and I desire to bless all My children.
Response: Help us accept Your gracious and wonderful blessings, Lord.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.