God’s Wonderful Blessings   

One afternoon a shopper at the local mall felt the need for a coffee break.  She bought herself a little bag of cookies and put them in her shopping bag.  After purchasing a cup of coffee, she found a place to sit at one of the crowded tables.  Taking the lid off her coffee and taking out a magazine, she began to sip her coffee and read.  Across the table from her a man sat reading a newspaper.
After a minute or two she reached out and took a cookie.  As she did, the man seated across the table reached out and took one too.  This put her off, but she did not say anything.  A few moments later she took another cookie.  Once again the man did so too.  Now she was getting a bit upset, but still she did not say anything.
After having a couple of sips of coffee, she once again took another cookie.  So did the man.  She was really upset by this, especially since now only one cookie was left.  Apparently the man also realized that only one cookie was left.  Before she could say anything he took it, broke it in half, offered half to her, and proceeded to eat the other half himself.  Then he smiled at her, and putting the paper under his arm, he rose and walked off.
Was she steamed!  Her coffee break ruined, already thinking ahead of how she would tell this offense to her family, she folded her magazine, opened her shopping bag, and there discovered her own unopened bag of cookies.
I like that story.  It makes us think about how well God treats us even when perhaps we’re not treating Him so well.  Over and over we are blessed by the hand of God, but perhaps we fail to remember that every good thing comes from Him, not from our own doing or power.
In Deuteronomy chapter 8, Moses tells the people of Israel how they will prosper in the promised land that they are about to enter.  After so many years of slavery and then wandering in the wilderness, they will eat their fill, they will have fine houses and large herds, and their silver and gold will multiply.  
Then, in verses 17-18, Moses said: Do not say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my own hand made me this wealth.”  But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to get wealth, so that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your ancestors, and as He is swearing to you this day.
In the midst of the challenges we face in this world, in the midst of whatever troubles may linger, let us always remember that God our Father loves us so very much.  He continually seeks to bring about what is best for us.  We are blessed in so many ways.

Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations (Psalm 100:3-5).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Walk Alone    The following article is from an email that was sent to me once by a dear friend (who, coincidentally, was diagnosed with breast cancer just a short time later)... My cousin, Donnie, lost his beautiful sweet wife to pancreatic cancer earlier this month. Jeannine was a precious person. She touched the lives of many people, family, and friends. Jeannine and I were not as close as we had been in the past due to raising children and busy lives, but there are some things that will always be with me because of her. When our grandmother was in a nursing home in Chatom, Jeannine and I would travel, with her little one, Kimberly, to visit Nanny every Friday. Jeannine began visiting Nanny long before I had the opportunity to travel with her. We would load up her little car with the walker and car-seat and head to Chatom. Jeannine enjoyed this so much. She told me one of the reasons was so that Nanny could enjoy Kimberly as much as she could in her last years on ...
Read more
Help and Strength    Philippians 2:7 says that Jesus “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant.” My Bible has a footnote that says it means that He “laid aside His privileges.” He became like us in all our humanity. But, as a man, Jesus would need some help if He was going to do and be all that His Father desired. He needed to be the Rabbi who would so capably share words of truth with the vast crowds that followed Him. He needed to be the Physician who would look upon the helples s with great compassion and heal them. And Jesus needed to be the Savior who would give His body, His blood, indeed His very life as He bore the sins of all mankind on that terrible cross. As a mere human, having laid aside all His divine privileges, Jesus could not do all these things that God had called Him to do. But He would receive help. God the Father provided divine help from His Holy Spirit so His Son could fulfill His role and His mission in this world. God’s Holy Spirit ...
Read more
Sometimes Love Hurts    Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” 1 Corinthians 12:26 “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” Surely you’ve noticed. You get up in the middle of the night and kick the corner of something. Maybe it’s the bed or the dresser. It really doesn’t matter; all you know at that moment is that there is severe and unwelcome pain. So let me ask you: how much of your body is concerned about what just happened to your toe? Do you think, it’s just a toe, it’ll be okay, and you go on without giving it any more thought? You know what happens. Your entire being is completely caught up in what is happening to that one small part of your body. When it happens, that toe is not alone in suffering. Your mouth and tongue cry out. Your whole body bends over just to be closer. Your leg raises up your foot as your hand rushes down to hold that poor hur...
Read more