Hebrews 12:11
Do you have a major desire in your heart that you know only God can answer? Perhaps you have a crippling sin pattern you want to be free from. Or maybe you want a godly spouse so you can partner with another in your service to God. Whatever it is, we can be sure that God is able (Matthew 7:7, James 1:17, Ephesians 3:20-21).
With that said, we must also accept that God is the one who has the final decision. Sometimes we want something that God does not want for us. Therefore, all we can do is do our best to take the biblical steps to receive a blessing from God; and then leaving the rest to him.
Here are 5 biblical principles that God uses to position you for a big blessing from him.
1. God Will Position You for His Blessings By Helping You Build Your Life on the Firm Foundation
When you read through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), it becomes clear that God desires more than mere obedience. Rather than a religious zeal to fulfill the letter of the law, which we fail at anyways, Jesus taught us that we must not only seek to do the right thing but to also do it these things for the right reason.
The heart is what matters most to God. Yes, we still need to obey God with our bodies and external choices. But only when we have the motive to please God with our actions are we prepared to be blessed by God. In other words, if you are just serving God for a blessing from God, you are not really serving God. A relationship with God is the reward we must seek most.
And that is the context for Jesus’ final words at the end of his Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus said:
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
2. God Will Position You for a Blessing By Helping You Lose All Faith in Your Own Ability to Produce This Blessing
In Matthew 6:8, Jesus tells us that our Father knows what we need before we even ask him. In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus says that we must ask God for what we want before God blesses us with it. And in James 1:6, we are told that when we ask without faith, we will not receive what we ask for.
Why does God operate like this? Why does he make us ask for what he knows we need, ask for what he knows he can give, and ask in such a way where we truly believe he can do it before he does it?
God waits until we are totally convinced we are incapable without him because he knows it’s best for us to know that he deserves all the glory and credit for everything good in our lives (Psalm 115:1). If God blessed us and we though that blessing was because we deserved it, we would become solidified in our pride and perish forever. In love, God prepares us for his blessings by teaching us he alone is the one who has the power to produce those blessings (1 Corinthians 4:7).
3. God Will Position You for a Blessing By Repositioning You Out of the Presence of Sinful Scoffers
Psalm 1:1-2 states, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Addition by subtraction is a common path God uses to position his people for increase. It might feel like a loss when you can no longer spend time with old friends who still love the world, when you refuse to compromise on your values, and when others reject you because your life brings conviction into their life.
Just know that God is actually preparing you for even greater relationships than the ones you are giving up for him.
4. If You’re Going Through a Trial Right Now, God Is Also Positioning You for a Blessing
Throughout Scripture we are taught the principle that our present pain, when faithfully endured, leads to greater future pleasure:
- James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
- James 1:25, “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
- Hebrews 12:11, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
So if you are in a trial right now, keep your eyes on the prize that God will give you if you remain faithful (Hebrews 12:2).
5. Patience Is the Key God Gives Us to Unlock the Blessings He Has in Store for Us
Some ask, “Why is God making me wait?” I don’t know. But the fact is, he is making you wait. It’s not always helpful to ask why. Sometimes it’s more helpful to just accept what is.
When you accept God’s will, you can then focus on faithfully fulfilling his will rather than wasting time wondering why this is God’s will. In other words, when you have to wait, don’t spend too much time asking “why?” when you could be asking “how?”
When you ask, “How can I get through this waiting?” God will give you what you need (Philippians 4:6-7). Patience is the key. When you can be patient during the waiting, God is actually positioning you for a future blessing (Isaiah 40:31).
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