Many times, it's the little things in life that we so often take for granted. I was reminded of this very thing one recent cold morning. I had gotten up early, built a fire in our wood stove, let the pooch in (Rusty also likes the wood stove), and made a pot of coffee. It was early in the morning, the time I prefer to talk to God and read the Bible. It's always quiet here in Virginia countryside early in the morning. Soon the fire was going and the kettle of water on the stove was boiling making a sound soothing both to the ear and the soul. The coffee was good. More so, God Is Good!
This particular morning I was reminiscing on God's little blessings, some mentioned above, that make life so wonderful. I was going to read a few chapters from the book of Proverbs but got no further than this verse in chapter 10, verse 22: "The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." Ever read a verse and didn't get any further? Normally I read several chapters or more but this is as far as I got. I thought about the Lord's blessings, both little and big.
Some may consider things to be a blessing only if it's a BIG thing. Big house, Big salary, Big title, Big, Big, Big! Indeed, God is Big, and He is able to bless in a big way, and has. Consider this, if you are a child of God (meaning that you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour) then you can say that you have been blessed with the greatest blessing in the universe! Bar none! Of course, you know this.
As usual, my thoughts soon turned to the church that God allowed me to help bring into this world. We have had some big blessings. Mighty BIG blessings! One was when we were led to purchase property along one of the busiest corridors (Rt. 29) in Fauquier County and then in a short time, all Glory to God, we were able to pay the mortgage in full. It is a blessing to be debt free! Another great blessing is to see souls saved, lives changed, and folks growing in the Lord. I could name many more great blessings, but in reality it's been the little blessings added together and summed up that's made the big blessings. From a humble beginning, little by little, with nothing more than Faith, God has richly blessed us and brought us along to this point in time. He has a reason.
As I write this, a new year lies before us. We have never been there, no man has, and only God knows what will take place. We've seen some things happen in the past several years, which from a moral and Biblical standpoint, not long ago would have been utterly unimaginable. Top of the list is the proliferation of the homosexual movement including same sex marriages and same sex unions. Who would ever have thought that in America, abomination, that's what God calls it, would be accepted by so many as normal? Who would ever have thought that some churches, God forbid, would have blessed it and accepted it, and partook of it? On it goes, ad nauseam! "Is there not a cause?" David of old asked? You bet there was, and still is! And not only regarding the homosexual movement. God only knows what Satan and his crowd may come up with next, but rest assured they will be busy at work and it will not be Godly. So, we may expect and count on the battle between Good and evil to rage on more fervently than ever!
This Pastor considers it to be a great blessing (and, God honoring) to take a stand for God, for Good, and for Right! It is a great blessing to have fellow church members who also take a stand for God. However, it's one thing to take a stand just on Sunday morning and another to take that stand daily, as we journey through this life. 24/7/365. May we all, in unison, stick together and stay together in one accord and keep "at it" as the battle rages on. God has blessed us and equipped us with something more powerful than anything this world has ever seen to fight that battle. ". . .The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart ..." (Hebrews 4:12).
God loves us, God has blessed us, God has equipped us. You may ask, "What different things are we going to do?" The answer is NOTHING DIFFERENT! Just more of what we have been doing. MORE outreach. MORE witnessing. MORE preaching. MORE inviting. MORE souls loved and won to Jesus Christ. God BLESSES these things!
May we never lay back and "bask" in God's blessings but rather take HIM to this lost and dying world to the furtherance of building His Kingdom. . . Folks, that is why God has so richly blessed us.
That verse: "The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." Will we ever be sorry for serving God? Will we ever be sorry for taking a stand? As my grandson would say, "No Way Hosea!" AMEN. SELAH.
