Blessed, Not Lucky

I have decided to remove the word “lucky” from the Pope household and replace it with the word “blessed”.  Nothing is left to chance. Luck has nothing to do with blessing. The writer of Hebrews tells us that rewards come to those whose seek the Lord. In Deuteronomy, we read of God’s blessings given to those who obey God’s commands. God is the giver of all blessings and gives appropriately to each of His children.

In Genesis 49, we hear the words of a very old and dying Jacob. In the chapter, Jacob blesses each of his children, these blessings we are told are given appropriately. I wonder if Jacob’s heart was saddened because he could not give each son the best of the best. Was it Jacob’s desire to lavishly bless his children beyond measure? This had to be his heart’s cry – but Jacob knew his sons. He knew what they had done.  He knew their hearts. My mind ponders on what blessings the boys missed because of their lifestyle and past behavior.

As a parent, because of misbehavior, disobedience, and wrong motives of the heart, I have taken away blessings that were due to my children. My heart breaks for my children over the missed blessing. If they only knew what was in store for them… if they could only see the plans I have made for them, they would have obeyed. Unfortunately, they will never know the blessing they missed.

Our Heavenly Father is the same way with us. He has an unlimited number of blessings He is waiting to give us. I can almost see Him on the edge of His throne cheering us on. “Come on my child”, He says. “I have something so awesome for you and I want to delight you today. Won’t you complete the task I asked you to do? Won’t you settle the debt you have with that person? Won’t you ask her for her forgiveness? The squabble you are having is senseless. Please, let me delight you.” Can you hear Him?

We have all missed blessings. Honestly, I don’t want to ever know what I missed because of my disobedience and wrong selfish choices. Just the thought of such a thing grieves my heart. Let’s make a decision today, friend. Let’s not miss any more blessings, but instead seek God and all His righteousness every day.  The seeking will be a blessing in itself because we will experience Him in a way we have never known before. He delights to bless us beyond measure, let’s let Him!