Blessings and God's Order

 

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
3. “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4. “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. (Deuteronomy 28 :1-4, NKJV)
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33, NKJV)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2, NKJV)For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16, NKJV)


For most Christians, the above passages are familiar. Many brethren are able to quote these passages accurately and that is good. These passages among others speak of great blessings that God has in store for His people and for that we are grateful to Him. But they also draw our attention to God's order. Ordinarily speaking, seasons come and go in a specified order, that is - winter, spring, summer and autumn (fall). We will never have fall immediately after winter because God's order cannot be discarded or destroyed. He is the Almighty God and what He decrees stands in spite of the contention and rebellion of some people. Lets' take another look at these four passages.

• From Deuteronomy 28, it is evident that to receive God's blessings we must first of all obey Him without reservation.
• From Matthew 6, it is absolutely clear that God will abundantly provide for our needs if we first of all seek His Kingdom and His righteousness. Note that it is His righteousness and not ours for the Bible says that our righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).
• From Romans 12, we are reminded that in order to prove (understand, comprehend) the good, acceptable and perfect will of God, we must first of all present our bodies as a living sacrifice. Some years ago, the Holy Spirit made me understand that sacrifice is part and parcel of our daily Christian existence and that very often there is a great cost associated with it. True sacrifices will stretch us beyond our expectations; true sacrifices will bring some element of pain; true sacrifices will at times make us targets of mockery and ridicule simply because as we obey God, many people will not understand His plans and purposes for our lives.
• From John 3, we discover that for us to be beneficiaries of eternal life, we must first believe in Jesus - believe that He is the only Savior and surrender unconditionally to Him. This implies repentance which involves a turning away from sin.

One does not have to be a rocket scientist to realize that the abundant blessings of God will only be our portion if we follow His order of priorities. In modern times many people including Christians have developed an entitlement mentality that causes them to expect blessings when they blatantly refuse to obey God completely. Let us be clear - delayed obedience is disobedience; partial obedience is disobedience and disobedience is a killer. It prevents  individuals from becoming the people that God had created them to be. When that happens, they become square pegs in round holes or round pegs in square holes as the case may be. The question for all of us is: Are you tuned in to God's order or are you designing one of your own?
God's order will never fail but man's order will always crumble. God is more than willing to bless all people but those wonderful blessings hinge on our surrender to His perfect will. As we approach 2015, will you follow God's order? Will you obey God without question? Will you allow Him to direct your life by the Holy Spirit? Obedience is the key to success. Finally  let me leave you to ponder on Joshua 1:8

 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (NKJV)
Obey God and your life will never again be the same. You will experience success and prosperity beyond your wildest dreams. God bless you all and I wish you a Happy New Year.