Do you remember the trick where someone shows you an object in their hand and when you reach for it, they close their hand and when they re-open it, the object has disappeared? God does not play that trick on us. He does not hide from us how to possess His greatest treasure. In the book of Deuteronomy, the Bible says quite plainly:
“The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.
So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
Deuteronomy 28:12-14
As I have spent time reading through the first five books of the Old Testament, it is clear to me that God spares no detail in giving us very specific commandments about how to be blessed by Him. Jesus summed up all of the commandments into two simple statements:
Love God, more than you love anything or anyone else; and, love your neighbor as yourself! (Matthew 22:37-39)
No matter what your physical circumstances are—be it wealthy and living in a mansion, or confined to prison without having seen the sun in years—no one can take away your freedom to choose to love God and live in obedience to Him.
After we are born again and our spirit is made alive, our soul is empowered to choose to love Him and live in His immense blessings; or, we may choose disobedience and live in despair, dissatisfaction, loneliness, and without hope. Keep in mind, the best blessings are not the material things—rather, they are things that money can’t buy—love, joy, peace, kindness; that is, the things that bless the heart and soul. Material things are just frosting. There’s no doubt that God wants to give us the physical things of life; however, He also knows what material things will displace Him in our heart and lure us into disobedience. This is one of the reasons I love to consistently pray this Proverb:
“Lord give me just enough of what I need, so I never forget I need You; but not so little, that I think You have forgotten me.” (Prayer based on Proverbs 30:9)
I know the deceptiveness of my fleshly desires—that is the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. (1 John 2:16) Of the three enemies, this is the enemy within and it seeks to wreak havoc on my desire to love God. To keep the best blessings of God flowing freely in my life, the Holy Spirit must have free reign! I must intentionally draw close to God each day and give him my full allegiance. One of the prayers that I like to pray in the morning is:
“Lord, I give YOU 100% of my heart today; 100% of my time; 100% of my resources; 100% of my law practice—take it all, and use it for YOUR glory!”
By freeing myself of my desire for anything other than to live in the presence of God—I place myself in a position to receive the best blessings of heaven. Believe me, there is no better blessing than to have supernatural peace, joy, and satisfaction!
Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself; and—you WILL live in the magnificent blessings of God!
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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7 Responses
I walked with God along time yet I still need to continue to become the woman of God. I need to pray, and study the scriptures and not lose sight of the goal in serving him and obeying him and his word thank you for this very good strong devotional today and the prayers. Thank you.
We will all struggle to grow until the day this body dies! Glad to walk with you. We need each other. 🙂
God is so good to us even though we don’t deserve his mercies and Grace. God promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Yes we have such a Wonderful Loving kind God that truly loves us and takes care of our needs. Thank you God in Heaven all give and Protect us from. I really enjoyed this devotional.
Yes, HE is so good!!!
it was such a blessing and I will say this prayer everyday thank you
Amen…what a gloriously kind God we have to provide for our needs!