“I don’t want to miss my blessing.” How many times have we heard one of our brothers and sisters in Christ make that statement? On the positive side, they understand that God in His sovereignty, omniscience, and omnipotence, is the only One that can bless us, that He alone holds our tomorrows and futures in His hands. On the downside, some believe that God will withhold that blessing if they are out of place or not where they should be when He decides to send a blessing their way. We need to really get clear and understand the truth of God’s Word about this, because not doing so can hinder us for increasing in our faith towards Him.
Galatians 6:7-9(ESV) says, “7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” We are very easily deceived because sometimes we think we’re moving by faith, when really we’re moving in unbelief because we don’t yet know the truth. God is not slippery, slick, insincere, deceitful, or disingenuous. He is not teasing, fooling around or tricking us in any way. The law that He’s set up works with a mathematical precision. If we put it out there, it’s coming back to us.
Jesus Christ teaches in John 8:32 that when you know the truth, the truth will set you free. When we know the truth, we can have confidence that we’ll never miss what God has for us. He’s not playing games with us. God’s laws are absolute. When we live by His truth, we can have absolute certainty that we will reap the rewards of doing so. It’s only when we, ourselves, are insincere and indifferent about our love and commitment to Him that we run into trouble.
Blessings are all around us every day. No matter how we feel about it, if we are above ground, able to breathe in and breathe out air, and feel the sunshine on our faces, we are blessed. If we have the activity of our limbs and the soundness of our minds; if we have food in our cabinets, and clothes to wear, we are blessed above measure. This is the truth! Everything else is just icing on the cake, and for most of us, it’s the icing we’re after.
Make no mistake, God wants us to expand and increase through Jesus Christ. He wants us to go from faith to faith, from blessings to greater levels of blessings, but a lot of the times, we’re not satisfied with just being blessed. We want rewards and our Heavenly Father is an excellent, perfect, and generous Rewarder. He tells us in Hebrews 11:6(NKJV), “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” God is a Rewarder, and this is Good News indeed! Well, what does He reward? He didn’t leave us guessing about this. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
So, most of the time, even though we might think we are, we’re really not concerned about missing our blessings, because we’re always blessed and highly favored if we’re in Christ. We’re concerned about lost opportunities to receive rewards, and we need to know that this one is totally and completely on us. Rewards are received for seeking God diligently. How do we do this? We seek God diligently by obeying His Word and following the example of Jesus Christ. Proverbs 12:14(NLT) says, “Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards.” God rewards our good deeds and service towards others, but Galatians 6:7 reminds us that He is not mocked. He’s not playing around with us. God does not reward when there are no good deeds and service that deserve it.
Jesus Christ teaches in Matthew 6:2-4(NLT), “2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do–blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” God is watching what we do and how we do it. Opportunities to be a blessing to others are planted plenteously in our everyday environments, but so often we miss them because our hearts are not focused on carrying forth the ministry that Jesus Christ began. We can change this, and we should. We need to pray and ask the Father to help us open our eyes to what He desires us to see.
Again, if we are in Christ, we are still blessed and blessed above measure, with or without rewards, but if it is rewards from God that we are after, we need to make service and good deeds a habit pattern. Jeremiah 17:10 says, “But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” God knows our hearts and minds, and His judgment is true forever and always. He knows that if we truly want to please Him, we will put some action behind it and do the things He’s told us to do. So, we will not miss our blessings if we are faithfully in Christ, but if we’re after God’s sweet rewards, we must sow into the lives of others and treat them with the love, compassion, and kindness of Jesus Christ.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“Lost Opportunities”, written by Reverend Fran Mack. Edits by Kim Times and K. Stephens for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.