This post is sort of a bonus content to go along with my prior writings about Gifts God Gives.
Just to recap here are links to each of my God’s gifts related posts:
- Where Do Good Gifts Come From?
- Things God Gives
- More Gifts God Gives
- Even More Gifts God Gives
- Gifts God Gives – Salvation
- Gifts God Gives – Spiritual Gifts
The two biggest things God showed me as I did the study of His gifts were
- God is a giver – it is His very nature to give.
- We have a part to play in being willing to receive. My hesitancy to receive God’s gifts is not a good thing. My trying to earn something He desires to give is not a good thing.
As I’ve reflected on this gifts series, God reminded me of a Psalm that I used to have the first 6 verses memorized in, which I’ve personalized below.
Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget any of His benefits. Who pardons all my guilt, who heals all my diseases; who redeems my life from the pit, who crowns me with favor and compassion; who satisfies my years with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle. The Lord performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed. Psalm 103:1-6 personalized
If you’ve worked for an employer who provides benefits, I imagine there are some benefits that you have that you may not become aware of them until you have need of them. For example, I think my employer provided short term disability, but thankfully I have not had need of that benefit, so I really don’t even know how it works and what it provides. This scripture tells us that God does not want us to treat his benefits in that way. “Do not forget any of His benefits.”
Is there a benefit listed here that you are not experiencing in your life. Do you have unresolved guilt? Is there dis-ease at work in your body? Do you feel defeated? Are you experiencing God’s goodness? Are your years filled with good things? How about your youth, is it being renewed? I think much like the gifts that we explored previously, these benefits are things that God provides, but sometimes we have to contend for them.
What I mean by contend is to fight the good fight of faith. It starts with realizing these benefits are available to us, and then sometimes there are steps to receiving them. Those steps can include forgiveness of others, repentance by us if we know we are violating God’s ways, asking God in faith – trusting His Word as true. For me, a key in my contending in this area has been consciously choosing to plant and dwell on the truth of this scripture. Very practically I do this by:
- Writing out these scriptures where I can see them often.
- Meditating on these scriptures – this simply means that I go over and over these scriptures in my mind on a regular basis. Every time I am telling myself truths, I am not investing in a lie.
- Incorporate this scripture in my wake up routine. When I first wake up, I often have a scripture passage that is my focus for a time. It starts my day in a Godly way.
Do you have other suggestions for ways to contend for the benefits God wants us to have?