Eyes Open: Recognizing The Blessing When It Comes

Praise the Lord, Whosoevers!
The Word tells us that no good thing will God withhold from those that walk uprightly…blessed is the man that trusts in Him (Psalm 84:11-12). This is but one of the many promises God has made to His children and like any good father, he desires that we have an abundant life (John 10:10).

Why then, are so many of us walking around not living fully in this promise? One could argue that it is a lack of faith. While this is true for some, I’d like to offer that those with the greatest of faith can miss out due to their inability to “see” past their own perception of what a blessing is - they simply cannot identify it when it comes. I am sure we have all heard the following joke in one form or another:

There was a man trapped in his house during a flood. When the water reached the front door, a rescue squad came by and offered to help him evacuate to safety. The man declined. "God will save me!", he told them.

When the water reached the second floor of the house, a rescue team came by in a motorboat and offered to help. The man declined. "God will save me!", he said confidently.

When the water reached the top floor and the man was sitting outside on his roof, the National Guard came by in a helicopter and offered to help. The man declined. "God will save me!", he shouted.
Finally, the flood waters engulfed the house and the man drowned. Arriving at the Gates of Heaven he met St. Peter and in bewildered sadness said, "I was so sure God would save me. How did I end up here? Didn't I have enough faith?!"

St. Peter replied, "We sent you an ambulance, a motorboat, and the National Guard in a helicopter! What more did you need?"

While this may cause us to chuckle on the surface, what it represents goes much deeper. Three times the Lord sent help (or, a blessing) and three times the man declined it. It came in the form of an ambulance, but he could not see it. It came in the form of a motorboat, but he could not fathom it. It came in the form of a helicopter and he could not recognize it for what it was. Yes, he had faith that God would save him, but because the help it did not come in the way he thought it should, his eyes were closed to the countless other ways that God could have sent aid.

How many of us can be likened to the man in this story? When you pray for a financial blessing and are suddenly sacked with a bunch of overtime at work, do you complain about the extra hours? When you have asked God to send you a partner, do you look past them because they are not your type aesthetically or because they are a clerk at McDonald’s instead of a CEO at a major corporation? When asking God to make you a better person, do you buckle under the pruning process? When desiring more patience, do you groan about the situations that come up to test it? When asking for healing (in this case we will use cancer) do you complain if you must undergo surgery to remove the tumor? Ask yourself, how many blessings have you let pass you by because they did not show up in the way you expected them to? Are your eyes closed to the multiplicity of God?

Until next time, be blessed!
Sue