Accept the Blessings
"Then what you had in the past will seem small compared with the great prosperity you'll have in the future." Job 8:7 GWT
As I thought about what to write today, I remembered some things. I have to thank God because He has brought me from some bad places, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I used to be a person that found it very difficult to accept compliments from people. And as I grew and came to know more about myself, I learned it was because I had so much hurt inside, that anytime someone said anything nurturing or uplifting to me, I could not receive it. My heart had become like a concrete wall, so all of the compliments and nice things people would say to me could not penetrate. It took me wanting to have a better self outlook to recognize the changes I immediately needed to make, and it was even more evident when another friend pointed out my character flaw.
I chose this scripture above because today, I was "blessed" by a friend at work that told me in so many words the exact same thing. I allowed a thought to fester in my mind for a while that was reminiscent of my past, pessimistic behavior and then I thought, I better receive this blessing. I had so often in my bubble of hurt, allowed only the hurts to penetrate it, keeping me trapped within, and rejected anything that did not line up with the lies I believed. I often look to the book of Job as a source of encouragement because I have many times in my life now felt like Job. I felt like I lost family and friend alike, and most of all my health. But because of who I am, I know that Jesus' blood made me a new person and God's promises are just as valid for me right now in my life as they were for Job and many others in their respective times.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our messes that we allow them to dictate our lives. Our eyes are closed to the blessings that are right in front of us. Whether you suffer from the kind of pride that will not allow you to accept or receive something from someone, or you suffer from the kind of guilt that keeps you prisoner to the past, or you suffer from selfishness that prevents you from being a blessing to someone else, you can ask God to help you. Only God was able to show me today that I can accept the blessing and reap a harvest like Job's, even after all of the things I have been through. It was only after I let my wall down to receive that all of the problems of the past were taken from me by God and now I am in a place where He can restore everything I lost and more.
"The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys." Job 42:12 NIV
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"No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God and their righteousness is of me," says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17
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