Friday, August 5, 2011

Blessings of God

Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as priest.” Judges 17:13

This story in Judges launches one of my least favorite segments of Scripture. It is one tragic example of life in rebellion against God after another. It makes me sick to read it all.

Each time I read this story of Micah and his Levite, I am highly inclined to be critical of both Micah and the young Levite. And, I want to rail against this boast in verse 13. How could he possibly think that God would prosper him simply because a Levite was serving as priest for his idols?

But am I any better?

Sometimes I catch myself thinking that if I pray just right or act just right or volunteer for just the right things, God will surely bless me. He will be unable to keep from drawing near to me.

No!

  1. I belong to God whether I do everything right or not. He has called me, drawn my heart to Him, and granted me the blessing of salvation. Period. Nothing I do, for good or for ill, will change that.
  2. He is already near to me. Having the right prayer formula doesn’t draw me closer to Him. Having a heart that hungers for Him awakens me to the fact that He is right there. Ready. Waiting. Present.
  3. God’s blessings are not for my benefit. They are for His glory. I do benefit from them, but only as my heart is surrendered to Him and hungry for His glory. If I ever do things out of a desire to be blessed because of them, I miss the point…and the blessing.

I am challenged in two ways. First, I am challenged to let go of my pride in ever thinking I’m better than anyone else, living or not. I’m not. I usually battle with the very thing I criticize in others. Second, I am challenged to do all that I do for God’s glory, not for my own blessing. Then and only then will I walk in the beauty of His glory and never lack for anything. 

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