How to Experience God’s Blessings
I received a question this week from a reader asking why, if God desires to bless us in so many ways, do we sometimes fail to experience His blessings?
In order to understand how God’s blessings work, we must understand three things: The first is that God has specific plans for how he would like each of us to live. The second is that we have free will, which allows us to either follow his plans or ignore them. The third is that his blessings, to a large degree, are determined by how closely we follow his plans.
One day, Peter was asked if Jesus paid the temple tax. Being a good Jew, Peter said yes. God had a plan to help pay the tax, but Peter needed to do a couple of things in order to experience the blessing he intended. The first thing he needed to do was bring the matter to Jesus. The Lord told him the Father had a plan to take care of the taxes: “Go down to the sea, throw in your line and look in the mouth of the first fish you catch. Use the coin you find to pay the tax for you and me.”
Peter now understood the plan, but before he could experience the blessing, he needed to take action. And this is where many of us fail to receive what God wants to give us. We receive the dream or the prophetic word revealing the plan. We realize he has provided an opportunity for blessing, but we don’t follow through. The instruction Jesus gave Peter was a bit far-fetched. He could have chosen not to obey and few people would have blamed him. But he exercised his free will, did what the Lord told him to, and he experienced the blessing of God.
God is not in control of the things that happen to us. If he were, we would not have free will. He has plans, and He provides opportunities. But we have free will, and many times the exercise of our free will causes us to miss out on His blessing. If you choose to eat nothing but junk food, you may miss out on His plan to bless you with health. If you choose to spend what extra money you have on video games instead of investing it, you may miss out on His desire for you to have a comfortable retirement.
Other people are allowed to exercise their free will against God’s plan for us, and He doesn’t (generally) interfere, lest he remove their free will. If someone sues you, it may frustrate God’s desire to bless you financially. If someone stabs you on the street, it can negate his desire for you to live a long life. The unwise or unrighteous exercise of free will is the main way in which we frustrate Gods’ desire to bless us.
When we are in danger of losing His blessing, He’ll usually send us a warning and instruction. Of course, we may not recognize His voice or understand His warnings. When we fail to experience God’s blessing, it is often because we’ve failed to understand His plan or because at some point, we’ve wandered from the path He set before us.
If you’re not experiencing the abundant life Jesus promised, you might ask him if you’ve gotten off the path he’s chosen for you. This isn’t about doing things to earn God’s favor. It’s about living in the center of God’s will for your life, where his blessings flow continually, and he guards you like a strong tower. And if the problem is that you’re not hearing His voice clearly, you might check out my book Hearing God’s Voice Made Simple.
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This is phenomenal teaching David! To take it one step further, the coolest thing for me about this journey is that we don’t walk in it through striving and anxiety, as if we’ll miss out on the blessings if we accidentally make the wrong choice. The will of God is that we “set our hearts on Him”, believe in Him, and act out of that belief, resulting in His promise that HE will order our steps. I truly believe that even had Peter misunderstood and gone to the wrong river, God would still have blessed his obedience by blessing him, just as he blessed the Samaritan woman who set her heart on God even though Jesus told her it was outside His current plan (Mt 15:24) (I’m sure there are better examples, but its what came to mind).
Bless you PM, keep on spurring us on brother into unity as we rise up into the fullness of Him Who fills all in all!
Oh, to know Him better. I do want to receive His blessings, but more than that, I want to hear His voice clearly, and follow Hid directions. And be a good friend to Him. And walk in His ways, and the list goes on and on 🙂
We are currently beginning to let go of all the good things God has provided for us – to be able to get to the Better things He has been waiting to bless us with. I heard from the Lord 4 years ago to sell and move to Gallatin-when my husband, who was not on board finally realized it was time…we started getting prepared. That was when the fear set in, most important to keep my ears open and trust that He is a great Father! I knew I had to be submitted to my husband’s wishes…and I was all set and ready… The delay caused me to waver. But I know what I know that I know!!! Lol time to pack and purge!
Joseph, something is seriously flawed with your interpretation of God’s sovereignty. He is sovereign, but in His sovereignty He decreed that Adam and his descendants should have dominion in the earth, not Him. This law is so perfect that even God will not break it. He will do nothing in the earth without our invitation by prayer. Peter tells us that God does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance, yet we do not see everyone saved so His will is not done automatically. WE have to ask Him and allow His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
According to your opinion if He is in control then we have no responsibility, therefore there will be no judgment nor reward because everything happens according to His will anyway. But Jesus said He will reward everyone according to what he has done.
Do not confuse that God’s will with the will of His enemies. All those scriptures you quoted address the evil plans satan and his demons scheme to execute through the people they posses for the destruction of God’s people. God is saying that He is greater and His will to bless us will be enforced and succeed in spite of the evil opposition because WE exercise our will to allow His power and grace to manifest. We have a responsibility to stand in the armor of God against the forces of evil for God’s promises (His will) to become reality in our lives.
The Lord is sovereign in the sense that He prepared for each one of us a certain mission and equipped us with the grace to perform it joyfully, but we are still capable to walk away and frustrate His will for us. That is not to say that His plan for the world will not be accomplished, but it will be accomplished BECAUSE of people like you and me that gladly do His will, not in spite of it.
Actually, you cannot agree to disagree with one another. You can show grace on your differences; yet, in all things have “unity in spirit AND soul”(Phil 1:27 YLT). You are both united with the Lord, and are thus One spirit with His (1 cor 6:17). You cannot tell where either of you begins and where the Lord ends. You ARE one with each other.
Yet, a house divided cannot stand!!
Lucky for us the house is not built upon theology, but upon faith (eph), and that from God so that no man may boast. I hear a lot of boasting in this thread, so knock it off friends! You both have an amazing perspective founded on your personal walks with God, so learn to discover God’s eyes and appreciation for one another, showing grace for what SEEMS contradictory, and love one another with true love, put on through faith in Who Jesus is (and thus, Who each one of you ARE).
E.G., rather than saying: “You say x, but I say y, so obviously x is wrong”, try asking God for HIS eyes for the other person which should produce a statement like: “I see that you admire Gods sovereignty and rely on Him in all things; that’s so great! I myself appreciate God’s sovereignty over our salvation but also have a great value for how He called us into co-laboring with Him in spirit as new creations, bringing the things of heaven to earth. What a great God we have!” See the difference in tone and unity?
Yes, there is much to be said about the scriptures, about what God said about Job’s accusation that God was responsible for Job’s pain, about what the cross accomplished for us that prior generations didn’t receive, and so on; but, all those things are worthless arguments over words if we don’t first have unity in the faith, sacrificial love for one another, and experience in being led by the spirit (and NOT the flesh or soul) in these conversations.
Show me grace also, as I tend to be bolder than sometimes I ought to be in matters of unity.
Granted 🙂
Eh Jeff, you should cut it out. If you don’t know the difference between a respectful dialogue and and an argument, you should stay out of it. Stop with the silly accusations. You put too much of your judgmental attitude into a decent conversation between two believers. Please stay out of it and do not stir up the pot.
If you have something to add into the discussion, by all means, please do so, otherwise, butt out.
Thanks,
I actually think that Jeff is absolutely right in all he said and I thank him for his post. Showing grace to one another is more important than being correct. If I came across in my post as boastful and unloving toward you I sincerely apologize. I still think that the concept that God is in control of everything is flawed but that was not in any way meant to mean that you are “flawed”. You clearly love the Lord so in Him you are absolutely perfect, so please forgive me if I offended you.
I also agree with Jeff that I cannot make an agreement with you to disagree. All I can do is attempt to agree with the Spirit of truth and if you do the same then we will automatically agree with each other. For example, Praying Medic and I agree by virtue of the fact that his understanding of truth is the same as mine.
I really only wanted to present a different view on the subject of God’s sovereignty, one that does not contradict the scriptures you quoted, but also takes into account other facts made clear in scripture. There is no dispute that God can control every aspect of life in His creation. He has the power to do anything he wants, that is obvious, He is King of the universe. It is also obvious that none of us is in complete control of every circumstance. What I meant was that God in His supreme sovereignty sacrificed a part of it and gave it to us humans. Once He did that He will not take it back unless we offer it back willfully. This freedom to choose is completely ours and it does not apply only to your wife’s choice for dinner, but to also to life and death, blessing and cursing.
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life… ” (Deut 30:19). “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Pro 18:21). So God is the source of life and blessing, the devil of sin and curse and we are the door that can open to one or the other.
Jesus took away the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) and God commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30), yet many don’t. His will and sovereignty can be disobeyed then.
If God was in control of everything, then he would be responsible for all the evil in our world—all the wars, killings, disease and destruction. But God is not the author of evil. In him there is no shadow at all.
“The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.” (Psalm 115:16) The Bible never says God is in control in this world, even though He owns it. Instead, it says “the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1John 5:19) So God gave Adam dominion over the earth (Gen 1:26) and Adam gave the dominion to the devil by his disobedience. But “for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” As a result of the cross all power was given to Jesus both in heaven and in the earth (Matt 28:18). And until He comes again He gave us His authority to make disciples, cast out demons and heal the sick. God has the will and the power but we are the ones with legal right to invite heaven in the earth. It’s up to us not God.
Joseph, I’m not trying to win an argument with you, only to suggest you consider my point of view and I pray the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. To Him be the glory. Peace.
Joseph,
I understood clearly what you’ve been saying from the beginning. I admire your faith in God, that you trust Him to control the outcome of history and that He is so awesome that He can redeem us and turn everything evil into good. Jesus IS Lord, and He has all authority both in heaven and in the earth. Amen. He is in charge and we are His followers. He is well able to control and use any circumstance for His purposes, He makes the plans and we are supposed to follow. No debate here, you made your point very clear, and I agree with you in this truth completely.
On the other hand, you say that God is not a “control freak” and that He does not interfere in our personal affairs, decisions and daily lives. By this you mean that regardless of our decisions God can still turn it into what He wants because He is in complete control, that He can interfere and work any situation irrespective of our “gross mistakes” into His plan because He is Lord. So in the end He still gets whatever He wants just because He is sovereign. Do I understand you correctly so far or have I “grossly misunderstood” you?
Let me try one more time and explain that what I’m saying is vastly different, and this is what you are missing: God has limited Himself to only manifest Himself in the earth through people that allow Him to. He is not completely sovereign until we give Him back our own sovereignty which He gave us. Only then He can control our circumstances and turn them for good. He limited Himself to only advance His kingdom here on earth through people like you and me, who surrender our will to Him in love. And in spite of our weakness, His kingdom will cover this entire earth. His purposes will be fulfilled no doubt, but only through yielded vessels like us. He is THAT good.
What a useless prayer would be to ask for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven if He is ultimately in control anyway…
The example in Acts 16:5-9 you quote is a consequence of the the fact that the early disciples were in agreement to surrender their their life and possessions to the Lord. The Holy Spirit was interfering and commanding them where to go and what to say NOT because He is LORD, but because the disciples asked Him to take charge and lead them. (see the prayer from Acts 4:24-31 and how God answered). If you continue reading in chapter 16, you will find in v.25 how at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and as a consequence SUDDENLY the Lord set them free from bondage. You see, God’s will to free them from that prison was contingent on their prayer for His will to be done. They gave God legal right to interfere, they had the key – which was their praise and worship, not God.
You see the same thing with the story of Joseph. God turned the sins of his brothers into their salvation not because He can do anything He wants, but because Joseph obeyed God and then God worked out through Joseph. It was Joseph’s surrender to God that brought God’s desire to save Israel and his sons into reality, not God’s sovereignty alone as you say. You see what I’m saying?
There is no runaway train Joseph, God has everything in control, all things are in His hands: that’s us. We are His hands and feet, the body of Christ.
My prayer for you is that as you seek the Lord in this matter, He may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him so you may know what is the hope of your calling. Amen.
Joseph, i ask that you extend him the same grace you extended me rather than attack him. I was going to duck out of this thread, but this conversation has been a surprising challenge for me as i follow it. You have both begun to clearly state your views, and as i listen i hear the scriptures and the Spirit screaming out to me in response. I need some time to pray and hear what God might say, but I think this conversation is incredibly valuable to us if we can honor one another through it. My 2 cents
Jeff, I’m defending what I believe. Dominionism is a well known sect that gives man too much power and moves him away from the simplicity of the gospel. Sorin in my opinion is very much opinionated.
I was trying to make sure that he understands that his theology is his, but not mine.
By the way, I’m curious to know if you have been appointed to be the arbiter in these discussions. If you are, please say so so that I can give you the proper respect.
Thank you, 🙂
Sorry brother, I have no idea what theology is that you are talking about. I’m sorry I was not able to help. May the Lord bless you in every way as you continue to follow Christ. Peace and grace be unto you.
Joseph, what an awesome name you have. Look, we all need each other’s help and as brothers in Christ we should edify each other. I am not pretending to be some great teacher, that is the job of the Holy Spirit. I am only a follower of Jesus with a Bible and His Spirit within me to interpret it.
In response to Praying Medic’s blog here you wrote a post longer than his about how you do not agree with what he said and gave us your own understanding on the subject. At the end of it you said that you are open to discussion, yes? So I replied to you in an attempt to show you the flaw in your theory and where it contradicts the Word of God. If the Spirit of God in you confirms to you what I’m saying is true, then you listen to Him and change your mind. If not, then don’t.
As far as that theology you speak about I never heard of it. Just now I spent about 2 minutes reading the Wiki page on the subject, and once I got to the part that says “dominionists” believe that the Church is supposed to rule over people I gave up on it. This is never going to happen, and I do not subscribe to such theory.
On the other hand, I do not care what you call it, Romans 5:17 says that we REIGN in life by Christ, those of us who received the gift of righteousness and the abundance of grace. That is me. And I hope you too. In Christ we have dominion over the earth and over all the beasts of the field (demons), not people. We – as members of the body of Christ – rule by SERVING people, but have dominion over sin and all the kingdom of darkness. Our dominion is not like the rulers of the world system, being lifted up in adoration by the world. We are feeble, but through Christ we can do all things He commands us and have victory.
You say that there is depravity in the church. I do not know wich church you talk about, but those led by the Spirit and have surrendered their will to Christ are graceful, righteous and holy like He is. Not in ourselves, but because in Him. “As he is, so are we in this world” (1John 4:17). “We are a ROYAL priesthood, a holy nation…” (1Peter 2:9)
Jesus Christ hath made us KINGS and priests unto God and his Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev 1:6)
Joseph, this is who you are if you believe it. Shalom.
Joseph, you touched on a lot of good stuff that I would like to address. I honestly admire your faith in our Lord and I am truly thankful to have a brother like you. I actually enjoy our conversation, as long as we seek the truth together and not allow contention to get in the way.
As far as the dominion theology goes, the Bible agrees with points 1,2,3,4 you describe, but not 5. Nobody should have dominion or force any other human being into submission no matter how righteous the cause. Jesus never dominated anybody and will not impose Himself on any human being. Whoever thinks the Church can take control of governments and social institutions and rule the world system has not understood how the kingdom of God works (nor the kingdom of darkness, for that matter). There are tens of thousands of denominations, each with it’s own theology but in reality there should be only one. I am not a “dominionist” or anything other than a follower of Christ. That’s why I do not care that much about theologies, I’m too busy studying my Bible. I don’t have enough room here to explain what I believe, but if you really want to know this guy (for example) explains it much better than I can here:
You correctly noticed that in Romans 5:17 the verb “shall reign” is future tense. I hope you do not interpret this to say that we shall reign with Christ in heaven. There is nothing there to reign over. The future tense of “reign” is meant to follow the present tense of “receive” from the first part of the verse, establishing the order of things: those receiving abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will qualify to reign in life. When do they reign? After they receive. Righteousness and grace is not a process that takes time, it is a gift that you either have or you don’t. Joseph, if you received this gift, then you qualify for reigning in life through Christ today.
You say that “Right now we are in the process of being sanctified”. Sanctification is not a process but a person:
“…of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption”(1Cor 1:30)
These things listed are not something we become by improving our behavior, they are the Person of Jesus Christ. He is my righteousness not my own behavior. The process that takes a lifetime is the understanding what we already have in Christ. Our behavior will reflect this reality once we renew our mind about who we really are. This is who you are also Joseph, wise, righteous and holy if Christ is in you. You said before that you want to be like Jesus. That is admirable, but you can never be like Him. Only Jesus is like Jesus. Now, if you received His Spirit and allow Him to live through you then His life will be expressed by you. Do not look at your behavior, look at who you are with Christ in and on you, then your life will reflect Jesus to all those around you as you yield to Him. You understand flow of the process? You must wake up to the reality that your nature is righteous before you manifest righteousness.
You asked me what and who do I have dominion over. Romans 8:35-39 Gives us a list of some the things we have the ability to overcome:
“… tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter…. in all these things we are more than CONQUERORS through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In other words we have the capacity to overcome anything that belongs to the kingdom of darkness which is in the world, because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. (1John 4:4) This includes sin, sickness, demons, death, fear, poverty, and anything else that the devil tries to put on us. As far as the devil is concerned I look just like Jesus and that’s how I reign in life, through Him.
You also ask if I am fit to have dominion in our flawed condition, and it is a very good question indeed. My answer is no, sinners and unholy people cannot overcome the world. I was flawed and I was a sinner, but now Christ has taken my flaws and sins on Himself on the cross and gave me His righteousness in exchange. That’s how come I am fit for dominion now, because I believe I obtained this righteousness (perfection) from God as a gift.(See also Phil 3:9)
You see, my good behavior is not the result of my own accomplishment that I can brag about, it is the work of His Spirit in me as I abide in Him: “Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not.”(1John 3:6) This is available to everyone that believes.
Peace and grace be unto you Joseph.
Sorin is my real name. Thank you for the kind words, I hope the love in my heart for my brothers comes through even if I don’t always know how to say it.
You ask me if I would be willing to lay my life down for the Lord, where I would renounce everything, not knowing where my next meal would come from or which bed I would sleep on. Well, I already did that. No point going into details, I would have to write a book. At 25 I left a very comfortable life behind and ended up in prison in a foreign country with no passport, no money and no way back. Though it’s been 26 years ago I remember like it was yesterday when I put my last $10 in some church donation box. But the Lord saved me from death and sickness and poverty. Now I’m blessed beyond imagination but I have nothing that I have not received from Him, so I have nothing to loose. My life is now dedicated to His kingdom and my desire is to be a blessing to His people.
You ask me to stop looking at the “theory” and look at the nitty gritty of circumstances in this natural realm. I already know the misery of the fallen human condition. For me the nitty gritty is the reality of God’s Word, the sick and broke condition of physical life is only temporary and subject to change.
I am sorry to hear that you are dealing with debilitating diseases that did not go away after prayer and fasting. I know it is not God’s will that we should be sick or in poverty (3John 1:2) so do not give up on believing God for your healing. In this world we are all subject to troubles and attacks of the enemy. I also have petitions before the Father that I have not yet seen the solution for, but this does not mean that I do not reign in life by Christ. It does not mean I don’t have to endure tribulations. A king is no less a king if his kingdom is attacked and may have lost battles. But this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Joseph, do not loose your confidence if you have not seen the answers to your prayers, He is able to perform what He promised:
“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up;” I am praying for you that you will receive the answers to every prayer you made in faith.
James 5:16 says “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”. Joseph, do you believe you are a righteous man? The way you answer that question affects how effective your prayers are. You see how reigning in life is connected to receiving the gift of righteousness as Romans 5:17 states? I know that our old man is full of “depravity all the way to sheol” but we must put off the old man which died and take our place in the new man born again by the Spirit which is flawless and righteous.
Death has no dominion over us because We already died with Christ (in Him) and were buried with Him in baptism. Now just as He was raised up from the dead we should walk in this new life eternal that He now has in heavenly places. Therefore spiritually we will never die, even though some day we will get out of this physical body. That’s what I mean by having dominion over death in Christ – which includes the fear of death as you correctly mentioned. Romans 6:3-11 explains this clearly, please read it now for yourself.
There will always be poor people in the world as Jesus said, but those that seek His kingdom and His righteousness will have everything they need added to them as He also said. If they learn to give as He taught, they will receive up to 100 fold no matter wherever they are because though Jesus was rich He became poor so we might be rich. This is also the grace of God. (1Cor 8:9)
I’ve been following Praying Medic for about a year and so far I have not found one thing wrong with what he said. I have actually learned a lot from him and I pray that God will continue to use him and increase his ministry.
Joseph, no problem at all not replying to me. I have been very busy myself, I’m at least 3 days behind on my emails…
I am sorry you are fighting an infection, I stand with you in prayer against that virus that is trying to steal your well being and I hope you feel better soon.
I have no words to tell you how much I appreciate your gracious comment. You will not know how much I needed the encouragement (until we meet in glory I suppose) and I recognize the presence of the Spirit of God in you that impressed upon you to bless me. I receive it, and I thank the Lord for the honor you showed me, calling me as a man after God’s own heart! It was the best compliment I ever got hands down from anyone – except from my wife and parents. Thank you Joseph!
As far as Praying Medic goes, I have not read his books – just the blog here and watched some videos. I guess we all know in part and make errors of judgment. I would also be very concerned if he stated that there is a contradiction between the Old Testament and the New. I agree with you that it is so much better to admit that we don’t understand something than to claim the Word contradicts itself. I’ve made enough mistakes to know the problem is with my interpretation than with the Word. Thank God for His grace that we get the chance to renew our mind as we keep seeking the truth: Jesus Christ Himself. While there are problems with translations here and there, nothing that the Spirit would not reveal if we would humble ourselves to ask, study and then listen. “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.” (Prov 25:2)
I wanted to make this one last post here publicly in case somebody follows along our conversation here and see how love never fails to bring harmony between brothers in the Lord. I have the utmost respect for you and your faith and I am truly grateful for having a brother like you.
May God continue to bless you richly Joseph.