I was reading this book 'Beyond Jabez' and it was talking about how God longs to bless us. How it makes sense to keep going to Him, thank Him and even to ask Him for more in the future. His great pleasure is to bless you so very much that you will have to ask Him to stop blessing you because you won't be able to handle one more blessing! Don't allow yourself to miss the extravagant goodness of God who rejoices to answer those who ask. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive the things God has prepared for him, but He reveals to us through the Holy Spirit. Invite God to lovingly overwhelm you with the flood tide of His great blessing today.
The author encouraged us to pray for God's blessings everyday. Frequently thank God for His many blessings. In a journal, keep a running list of His expressions of goodness toward you, whether they have come in response to prayer or unsolicited out of His overflowing generosity. Gradually your heart will fill with gratitude as you learn to interpret 'coincidences' you previously overlooked. Instead of thinking dismissively like 'Well, that was a nice surprise', you will begin to rejoice and say to others 'Wait till I tell you what God has done for me!'
This was what I have done in the past few months, focusing on the list of blessings in my life. I treasure each and every single blessing because it was an expression of my heavenly Daddy's love for me. Some blessings came in response to my prayers, such as longings fulfilled. Some came unexpectedly as a surprise when I totally didn't expect it. And then some blessings were in the form of His restoration work which I had completely forgotten about because those incidents happened years ago. Indeed as I looked back I couldn't dismiss these as coincidences, as I clearly saw the hand of God in my life. Oh how my heart swells with thanksgiving and joy as I relish in what God has done for me!
The author also told us to enjoy God's blessings. Know that God wants us to have a good time with His gifts. You may say 'But God, I don't deserve this. I didn't earn it.' God responds 'That's right, you don't. It's a gift, that's why it's called grace. Enjoy it!' This was exactly how I felt when I received the luxury bag. I didn't work for it and I felt I didn't deserve. I was spending my hubby's hard earned money. But God told me precisely because you didn't work for it, that was why it was called a gift! Having learnt much about the grace of God, this was one of the rare times I truly experienced His extravagant grace. I felt so loved! And I did what He told me, which was to enjoy this present!
Not only that, God kept telling me from the start of the year, that if only I knew what He has in store for me, I would be rejoicing right now. I would be crying tears of joy. He told me He has plans to prosper me, to give me a hope and a future. Such messages really got my expectancy level up high, looking out for all the good things God is doing in my life. Bible hope is a confident expectation of good. The reason we can have such hopes is because of what Christ has done for us at the cross. All glory to Jesus!
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