Devotionals

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"And answering him, Jesus said, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' And the blind man said to Him, 'Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!' And Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has made you well.' Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road."
-Mark 10:51-52 (NASB)

"Those supplies are most comfortable that are fetched in by our faith. When he had received his sight, he followed Jesus by the way. By this he made it appear that he was thoroughly cured, that he no more needed one to lead him. When he had his sight, he made this use of it. It is not enough to come to Christ for spiritual healing, but when we are healed, we must continue to follow him. Those that have spiritual eye-sight, see that beauty in Christ, that will effectually draw them to run after him."
-Matthew Henry

"When I consider the blessings God has given and still continues to give me, I feel ashamed. I feel I have abused those blessings, barely using them profitably to become more like Christ."
-Brother Lawrence

I believe that Mark 10:51-52 tells us everything we need to know about how to handle God's blessings. Blessings aren't rewards in the sense most of us think of rewards. Rewards to us usually involve the bringing in of an object or event that's exterior to the thing we're being rewarded for. For example, a child may receive a piece of candy for getting good grades on his report card. While rewarding, the candy is not in any way beneficial to the child's knowledge and grades, which is what school is all about. I make God's blessings out to be this way a lot. I feel like if pray enough, spend enough time with Him, or memorize enough verses, He'll say "Good job! Go take a break" which translates into "Take a break from pursuing holiness." And all of a sudden, little things in life that distract the mind from God's presence seem to be a little more justified. Maybe this reward system works for school, but holiness never rests.

The problem is our definition of blessings and rewards. Why would God bless you with something that doesn't honor Him? God is not the teacher who gives candy because you made an A in history class. He's the teacher who would reward you by giving you an awesome book on world history to further your knowledge. He's the teacher who rewards by taking you on a field trip to a historical museum. He knows all too well what I've only begun to discover in the past year: that the best of God is God. His presence abundantly satisfies. It's all we could ever want, and all my ambitions as a college student to find a job, a calling, a spouse pale in comparison. We like to search for God's gifts without searching for the giver. If you haven't already done so, you will one day realize that the greatest reward God can give you is more of Himself. Thus, ALL blessings He gives to us are for the purpose of walking closer to Him.

The application of this is simple in word, yet profound in practice: How can you use everything that God has blessed you with to draw closer to Him? The blind man who received his sight didn't use his newfound eyesight to fulfill the lust of the eyes, he used it to follow Jesus! How can I use the refund check I got from my taxes this year to follow Christ? How can I draw nearer to Him through the friends He's given me? This is TOUGH, but it's exactly what we're called to do in 1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whether you eat or drink or WHATEVER you do, do all to the glory of God" (NIV).

What has He blessed you with? "Count your many blessings." Are you using them to follow closer to God or are they spent on your own pleasures?

In Him,
Scott

"...the nearness of God is my good..." -Psalm 73:28 (NASB)

"...in Your presence is fullness of joy..." -Psalm 16:11 (NASB)


"Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops" -Proverbs 3:9 (NIV)

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