Expect to be Blessed
“You are now the blessed of the Lord” Genesis 26:29
God gave Abraham a promise and Abraham believed God. It was Abraham’s faith in God’s promise that became the basis for the covenant between the two of them. God said, “I will bless you.” Abraham did not earn these blessings. They were to be his because of the goodness of God.
After the death of Abraham God appeared to his son Isaac and reiterated His covenant to Him saying, “I will perform the oath which I sore to Abraham your father.” (Genesis 26:3) The Lord promised to bless Isaac just as He had blessed his father Abraham. And bless him He did.
“Then Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.” Genesis 26:12
God’s blessings upon Isaac were so abundant that “the Philistines envied him.” (vs. 14) They begin to fuss and quarrel with Isaac but the Lord intervenes, appearing to him and saying, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendents for My servant Abraham’s sake.” (vs. 24) King Abimelech of the Philistines recognized that God was blessing Isaac just as He had blessed his father Abraham. In verse 29 he says to Isaac, “You are now the blessed of the Lord.” What an amazing thing.
Can we expect God to bless us today? If so, why? As it was with Abraham and Isaac so it is with us. God is good and has made a covenant with all who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ for salvation. When we believe God’s promise in Christ we come under His blessings.
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32 NIV
While it is true that if we have tasted of the Lord’s goodness we will be grateful and strive to please Him with our life it is vitally important for us to remember that the basis for God’s blessings in our lives remains God’s goodness, not our goodness. Because God has obligated Himself to us through this covenant of grace we can expect Him to bless us.
Oh, that we would believe God! Oh, that we would be blessed of the Lord so much that others would see it and say, “You are the blessed of the Lord.” This is a testimony to the goodness and greatness of our God. His blessings upon us are not to make our lives easy and definitely not to pump up our fragile egos but rather they are meant to be an evidence to the world around us that God is real and we belong to Him. His blessings upon us are many and come to us in various ways. May we expect to see His blessings and be grateful!
Are you counting your blessings? As the hymn says, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”
Expect to be blessed!
Pastor Dan
|