Where’s the Blessing?

Where is the Blessing?

Yes, I talked about “pending” and our move a lot this summer. God just keeps showing me things with Abraham. First was obedience and now the blessing. One more lesson…..😂

“The Lord had said to Abram, “go from your country, your people, and your father‘s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.”

When God spoke to us last winter and told us to move to Indiana, our thoughts were to be helpful and to enjoy being near another part of our family. We pictured buying a little one story home close to our family (but not too close😊). We would spend our days enjoying each other‘s company, following the kids sports and going to their plays, celebrating holidays together… In our minds, He promised us a new season full of fun and life going the way we planned. He said it so that settles it; everything will work out fine.

When I think of the promises of God or words from Him, I think of the results being a blessing. I assume He is giving me what is pictured in my mind or what I want. But, God’s ways are NOT my ways and His thoughts are NOT my thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9) so He will usually give me something different than I pictured. Sometimes I receive the blessing even slower than I want. And then there’s the question, did He really promise something or is that what we called it? And do we sometimes wonder “where is the blessing??”

When God told Abraham to go and He would bless him, I don’t think Abraham pictured in his mind 40 years wandering in the wilderness and still living in a tent“ I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you.” Gen. 12:2 Abraham obeyed and moved to a new place where God promised him a great nation. If God told you to move and He would make you into a great nation, what would you picture in your mind? Would you be leaving your tent behind and moving from a tent to live in a penthouse on the 30th floor with an unbelievable view?? Or would you expect to live in the same old tent year after year?

When we moved to Indiana, the first week of April, we were living in our camper. We were going to the kids sports and theaters events. We were praying for our house in Texas to sell. We were praying about finding a house in Indiana. We were praying and visiting to find a church home. We were just enjoying our time here with family while looking for answers. Two weeks stretched on and on in 2 months…. 3 months. Nothing was happening. No selling or buying a home. No finding a church. Then came the dreadful, devastating day that our 10-year-old grandson was diagnosed with advanced bone cancer. We were in shock! This was NOT what we had expected and this was NOT the way things were planned. We were obedient and moved, and this was not the blessing we expected. Where was God? Why did He fall through on His promise when we were obedient? Ever been there??

Our expectations of God can lead us to thoughts about the way we think our needs will be met or the what the blessing will be. What we expect and what God plans are usually two different things. Expectations can be dangerous because we don’t really know what we need or what is really a blessing. If we have ungodly or worldly expectations, we might be waiting a very long time when a different answer has already been sitting there right in front of us.

We can be blessed with promises of land but still live in a tent. We can be blessed with a job promotion but still have the same salary. We can be blessed with healing but still have side effects. The blessing isn’t always what we had hoped for.

Now, we are here in a home we love. It has everything we asked God for last winter. We are here in this new season, new land and in this home, but that is NOT the blessing. The blessing is not what we expected. It does not look like what we thought it would look like. The blessing is we are here and available to help with our grandson. We are here to be a support.

Believe by faith what God speaks to you, promise or not. What His Word promises for you or what He speaks to you might still look different than you expect. It may not  match the picture in your mind. That doesn’t mean it’s not a blessing.

“By faith, Abraham when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” By faith we came to a place even though we did not know why or know what to expect.

“Not one of all the lords good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” Josh. 21:45

“You know, with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” Jos. 23:14

“ Now to Him who is able to do FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY than all that we ask or think…” Eph. 3:20