Does Faithfulness Equal Blessing?
I’ve been
under the heavy hand of the Lord lately. I'm feeling like a cup of packed brown sugar, pressed down – not from rebuke or correction, but
from blessing and overflow. I’m not complaining at all. Given a choice between
rebuke or reward, anyone would choose reward. As I’ve shared my experiences
with friends close to me, they’ve celebrated what’s happening for me and offer
comments, such as, “The Lord is blessing your faithfulness,” or “You’ve been
faithful all these years, and the Lord is rewarding you.” I appreciate their
sentiments, but is it really because I’ve been faithful, or is it because He is
faithful?
For every
outward witness of faithfulness on my part, there are at least as many (and
much more) times when I’ve been faithless. I know my heart, and my thoughts –scandalous
at best and heinous at its worst. Paul said, “There is nothing good in me,
except Christ,” (paraphrasing Romans 7 & 8). Sadly, how much more true it
is of me. So, no. To my friends I say, “Thank you for observing Christ in me,
but His blessing has nothing to do with my faithfulness, and everything to do with His faithfulness.”
2 Timothy 2:11-13, The saying is trustworthy, for: If we
have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also
reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny
himself.
He remains
faithful. He is faithful to the ones who are more mature in their faith than me,
and He is also faithful to the believers who put themselves under opposition
because they believe lies rather than walk in truth. He sends rain on the just
and the unjust. It’s who He is, and He can’t BE anything different.
It’s
dangerous thinking to say, our being faithful equals God’s manifest blessing. It
leads to performance, which is something I struggle with already; I don’t need
further justification to move in that direction. But then, what can be said of the recent blessings and
forward movement? If there is a correlation between something I’ve done, and
the subsequent blessings it is this:
Luke 1:45, Blessed
is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those
things which were told her from the Lord.
I’m not the
only beneficiary of this promise. What has He whispered to your heart? What
plans is He making with you? Dear one, believe His words. Hold them onto them
as your hope. They are true and trustworthy.
The Lord
spoke some specific words about my life, my future and my legacy – the works He
had planned for me; and for those works to come to fulfillment, it required His
blessings (open doors, opportunities and favour). I believed His word to me. He
did everything.
All
Christians everywhere are included in the promises we’ve been given, which are
in the Bible. God is working out history to be His story. God is all about the big picture and yet He is in the
details too. He’s incredibly intimate and personal with each one of us, and He
has a purpose and plan just for you. It’s unique, and tailored to your
expression of His character on the earth. For some it may coincide with earthly
riches and fame with influence which is deep and wide. For most of us, let it
be enough that your name is celebrated in heaven and feared in hell. No matter
what though, enjoy His blessings in the process – it’s not what you do, but
what He does.
God alone
is faithful, He cannot deny Himself, and His promises to you - to us - are
faithful to fulfillment.
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