Have you ever thought about the primary purposes of God as He relates to His children? I mean really, what is God’s goal? What is He aiming to accomplish in the lives of those that love Him, obey Him and follow His laws, statutes, and commandments? What would you think if I were to tell you that all God wants to do is bless you? Sound too simplistic? Too good to be true? Well, it is true. You see, first and foremost God is love. He abounds in love, works in love and created us in love. And it is here, out of this abundant and endless love, that beats the heart of a Father. A Heavenly Father. A Father that not unlike an Earthly father, only wants the absolute best for his children. A good, good father wants to bless his children. If you have called upon Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are indeed a child of God and today you need to know one thing…all God wants is to bless you.
Today as I jump back into my regular study plan of God's Word, it lands me in Deuteronomy 33. There are only 34 chapters in Deuteronomy so tomorrow will find us at quite the milestone. We will of course finish the book, but we will also finish the Pentateuch (pentateuch means five books.) Moses of course wrote the first five books of the Bible and tomorrow will find us finishing up this tremendous set of books and moving along in the OT following of the Israelites. There are 187 chapters in the Pentateuch and since the 5MC covers 5 chapters per week, that means we have spent almost one full year covering it’s entirety. In fact, I went back and looked, and Genesis 1 was posted on May 28, 2019. That’s quite a bit of time we've spent with the great man of God, Moses.
But today, we find the last public act of Moses before the Lord calls his faithful servant home. Moses has spent 40 years speaking directly to God, leading God’s people and serving the Lord in any and all capacities. So as a life such as Moses' draws to a close, what do you suppose God would have to be his last order of business? Well, in keeping with our title today and God’s purpose in our lives, He has Moses deliver a blessing to all the individual tribes of Israel. Yep, the last public act of Moses before his death is to gather the 12 tribes around and deliver a blessing upon them from the Lord. God wants to bless us.
So, if God’s goal is to bless our lives, how can we effectually claim the rich blessings He wishes to bestow? Great question and the answer lies all throughout the pages of God’s Word. You see, when you think about God’s blessings, you really must go deeper and explore what you think about God. Does God owe you blessings? Are they just naturally yours because you were born? Because God made you does He owe you blessings like some backpay from an old job? You see, how you view God will determine how you see His blessings.
For an example, let’s look at little Timmy. Little Timmy is 4 years old and quite the rambunctious character. He is high energy, loves to play and at times this high energy selfish drive can find him at odds with his parents. His parents have strict rules and guidelines in place for his safety, happiness and well-being but those are only truly effective if they are observed. You see, the rules are always in place and active, but they only function if little Timmy actually observes them. The parents fully understand this, yet little Timmy because of his lack of vision can at times have a singular selfish vision. He can only see what he wants. As little Timmy breaks the rules in favor of what he desires, the rules and guidelines become ineffective and he suffers from the breakdown of obedience. And in bitter irony, little Timmy is oblivious of the breakdown. Only the fact that he wants his desires met are at the forefront of his mind. But on the flip-side, as a result of his behavior and his willingness to be obedient, he can expect to see the blessings of his parents. When he is fully obedient, his parents are moved to possibly reward him for it. Maybe a cookie, maybe a little more screen time or maybe just a really big hug and a pat on the back. Contrary, if Timmy is constantly disobedient and only pursues his own selfish ways, the full blessings that are always present cannot be fully manifested in light of his open and blatant disobedience. Now note, the love of his parents is never in question. Timmy’s parents love him the same all the while, but the blessings Timmy receives are not indicative of the amount of love his parents hold for him, but in his obedience to their rules.
Folks, our relationship with God is no different. You see, Gods love for us is the deepest most powerful force that has ever existed. He created us in love, desires a personal relationship with us and out of this deep love sent His only Son here to die for us so that all that call upon His name will not die but have everlasting life. Regardless of how you may be experiencing God’s blessings today has absolutely nothing to do with God’s love. What is does have to do with is your obedience to God.
Do you acknowledge God? Do you follow God? Do you love God? Do you read and study His Word? Do you know what it says? Do you follow the rules and guidelines He puts forth in His Word? Do you follow them at all costs or only when they are convenient? Do you believe that God’s commandments are absolute, or do you pick and choose from them like a buffet? Do your own fleshly desires rule over God’s way for your life? Folks, just like little Timmy, the love of your Heavenly Father is present and deep, but to claim the full blessings He has for you, depends on how you react to Him in obedience.
God wants to bless you, the question is, how bad do you desire the abundant blessings of God? It’s not enough to simply say you want to be blessed, you must be willing to say, I will forgo the desires of my own heart and seek the true desires of God’s heart. It is in that moment that your obedience to the Lord will move you into the full and radiant shower of His blessings.
May your obedience to God find you resting in His rich blessings today.
“He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Luke 11:28
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Josh 1:8
“If you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15
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