Endless Blessing

Have you ever thought about the permanent blessing of God?

I know that sounds too good to be true, and in fact, it is, because it is a blessing that has no beginning or end.

The permanent blessing is the blessing of God that is upon our lives every day; it is the favor that gives us life, protects us, leads us and brings us to our homes, frees us from diseases, gives us strength to overcome the bad seasons of life, gives us wisdom and intelligence to solve problems, in short, it is multiple blessings happening at the same time, each one given especially for an area of life.

God sends us what we need at the exact time we need it. Although the situation may seem chaotic and meaningless, the permanent blessing is there with us.

What is the purpose of this blessing?

The Lord gives us this blessing so that we can grow, develop, and become everything that He created us to be.

God created us to do great things, and this takes time, so He graces us with the permanent blessing; the Lord is perfecting us daily, extending his hand so that we can climb one more step towards the future that the Almighty God has designed for each one.

Don’t give up! Don’t surrender! The permanent blessing will always be with you.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (CSB)

Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!

Always Present

Throughout life, we create a wrong perception about what it means to be under God’s protection. We are taught that divine coverage will deliver us from all bad situations, and nothing bad will happen to us.

However, throughout life, we live many things that bother and sadden us. We suffer disappointments, betrayals, and injustices; we feel physical and heart pain, and it seems that everything that could go wrong happens to us.

In these moments, we question whether God is really with us; we question whether we are under his protection and blessing. The whole scenario indicates that we are living alone, and no one cares for our steps.

Before concluding we are alone, we must dive into the Word of God and comprehend how He acted in the lives of his beloved children.

In the Book of Genesis, we see how God was with Joseph throughout his life, the young man faced the envy of his brothers, slavery, and prison. In every place he was, God showed him his grace. Joseph ended his life as the second most important man in Egypt, responsible for saving the nation during the time of famine.

In the Book of Exodus, we see how God cared for the people of Israel in the desert, providing them water, food, shade during the day, and light and warmth during the night. The people were led to the Promised Land, where they enjoyed abundance in everything.

In the Book of Daniel, we see how God saved Daniel’s friends in the blazing furnace, He sent an angel who protected them. Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den and was also protected by an angel sent by God. Daniel and his friends were respected and admired by the king of Babylonia.

All these stories have something in common: God rescued the people amid their disgraces. Everything seemed lost, but God saved them and led them to blessing. The Lord was with each of His children in their worst moments.

Therefore, we must cling to this same faith, believing that God is with us even when everything is chaos and seems like our end. The Lord is by our side, strengthening us and guiding us towards victory.

Isaiah 43:2 (NIV)

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Never Forget

 

Modern life provides us with many challenges daily; there are many tasks, appointments, notifications, calls, messages, and e-mails, so, all want our attention the entire time. And amid this chaos, where is the word of God and his commandments?

It is not uncommon to leave reading and meditation for later. We always say that we are busy at that moment and can’t stop for biblical reading and prayer. In part, that’s true, there are moments where nobody can stop what they are doing.

However, we can’t allow the ocean of tasks to drown us and kill our spiritual life and relationship with God. Although there is a lot to do, we must “reserve” a time in our agenda for the Lord; a moment of peace and calm where we’ll be alone with God.

Someone can start with a little while, maybe ten or fifteen minutes a day, in a private place. If it’s possible, with relaxing music to calm the mind down; seek an encouraging text in Psalms or advice in Proverbs. Reflect on the text and talk to the Lord with all your heart. Don’t worry about nice words or saying something wrong. The most important thing is to open your heart before God.

I’m sure this moment will transform your day and life. You’ll have created a personal, direct, and continuous connection with God. Do your best and see the transformation.

Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NIV)

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Remember Your Best Days

 

All of us have good and bad days. Moments where everything runs perfectly without any trouble, and moments where everything is out of control, we don’t have peace, and nothing works.

I don’t know why these bad days are the only ones we often remember. I’m not joking; this is real. If we start recompiling our happenings, we’ll remember more the displeasing situations than good ones. Our minds seem to have a special room for disgraces, mistakes, hurts, disappointments, misfortunes, etc.

What are the consequences of storing these memories?

We get used to thinking and hoping for the worst of everything and everybody; we can’t hope for anything good in our destiny. Whenever we are waiting for an answer, we are assured the reply will be negative. We can’t trust anyone because we suppose they will hurt us. We feel incapable, ordinary, defeated, and abandoned.

All these negative emotions sour our lives and limit our vision. In fact, we can’t do anything good because we decide that we don’t deserve it, and it won’t happen.

It’s time to shift your mind. Replace your sad memories with happy ones; instead of remembering what you didn’t get, remember all the gifts that God already gave you. Don’t give room in your heart to those who have hurt you; remove them and replace them with those who love and care about you. Forget the sadness of one failure in your past and meditate only on the lessons you’ve learned.

With these simple decisions, you can grow and become all the Lord has created you to be: a blessed, strong, awesome, and victorious son of the Most High God.

Psalm 77:11-12 (NIV)

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.

Don’t Wait, Act!

 

Many things can rise against us and frustrate our plans. Many hiccups can arise and discourage us. Opposition dismays us and makes us doubt our capability and strengths to continue.

Besides all that can be against us, sometimes, we ourselves are fighting against pursuing and realizing our dreams. I know that can seem odd, and the first answer would be:

“I’m not against my dreams. I fight for them; I do my best.”

Generally, that’s true. We do our best for our dreams. However, we’re not always really acting. Sometimes, we are waiting for the perfect condition to start. We glimpse a bright future but don’t act to achieve it. We delay the action, always saying things like:

“Now is not the right moment.”

“Tomorrow, all will be better; I’ll be more willing.”

“I’m going to start next week.”

“Next year, everything will be different.”

The beginning is postponed, delayed, deferred, and finally; that never occurs. We carry a mountain of regrets and imagine how all could be different if we had acted; how we would be better if we had started…

Don’t carry regrets because of what you would like to do; learn valuable lessons by doing and making mistakes. Do, make a mistake, do it again, hit the target. The pain of trial and error is much less than that of a heart frustrated by not acting.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 (AMP)                                               

He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

Look at the Spectacular

Some things impress and fascinate us because their existence seems incredible and spectacular. Some things give us a feeling of greatness, power, and mystery…

We look at nature and are amazed by the size of the great animals; we are astonished by the huge ocean or an interminable desert. And we get even more dazzled when we think about the sky, the stars, and the universe.

And if our hearts and minds are open, we also notice greatness, power, and mystery in tiny things.

We look at our hands and see fingerprints. A unique and unequaled draw not repeated in any person (alive, who has lived or will live). The small ants can carry objects heavier than them. And the bees who have an ingenious system of honey production.

Our vision must be open to the small great miracles we experience daily: wake up, come back home at dusk, have food, have a house…

Many are the blessings we receive from God, but sometimes, we forget their value. We blindly seek the spectacular, the fantastic, and the unimaginable, and despise what is right in front of our eyes.

Each of the Lord’s gifts should be treated with the highest esteem and appreciation because they sustain and support us to achieve greater and greater miracles.

Psalm 23:6

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

A Simple Life

Daily, animals get out of their hidden places to seek their food supply. Each of them knows they must do their best to get what they want. However, during this search, the unexpected can happen.

They may not find what they are looking for. Another animal can take away their goal or disturb their search. Or they may find less than expected.

The way animals act brings us some very interesting reflections. They don’t care about news of the economy or politics; nor do they worry about what is beyond their reach.

If something goes wrong, or they are wronged; they don’t revenge, and don’t alter their character to reply to the situation. They keep faithful to what they were created to be.

They also don’t worry about the future: days, months, or years. The very thing they are concerned about is winning that day.

May the animals’ ways inspire us to go ahead; to have an incorruptible and immutable character, and to calm anxiety, living each day at a time.

And above all creation is the Lord, who created them like us. God protects all He made. The creation only needs to be attentive to the voice of the Creator.

Matthew 6:27-28

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?