Living Blessed

Psalm 65:4
Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.

Glorious, Gracious, Generous God!
I am so abundantly blessed and enriched because You lovingly chose to adopt me and brought me to live in Your heavenly manse. As Your beloved child, I have access to all the good things of Your holy house. Overwhelmed by Your incredible kindness, I’m too stunned to speak. My only response is adoration.

Compassionately bringing me in from the cold dark world, You cleansed my heart with fire, branding it with the seal of sweet Spirit to show that I am one of Your valued possessions. You forgave and forever forgot all of my faults and failures. You healed all of my hurts and gave me hope. Determined to restore my beauty, You traded my torn and tattered rags for a perfectly seamless robe of righteousness. You crowned me with compassion and kindness, and adorned me with humility, gentleness and patience. Putting a joyful song in my heart, You filled me with love. No longer hanging my head in shame, I’m able to proudly stand up and proclaim: “I’m a child of the King.”

You changed my stinking thinking by providing me with a positive perspective and power to overcome enormous obstacles. Hiding beneath Your almighty shadow, I can constantly duck down and pray. Obediently listening to You, I can count on Your promised protection. It’s in Your presence that You strengthen and sustain me to overtake the demons determined to destroy my soul. With courage and confidence I can triumphantly claim the conquest. If You are for me, who can be against me?

O Glorious, Gracious, Generous God! You’ve given me so much more than I deserve! This world is not my home; heaven is. Help me to look past the present, hide in Your presence, and fill up on the good things of Your holy house. Alleluia! Amen.

Do you hear God’s Word? If He chose you, you are blessed to live near Him. He promises to fill you with all the good things of His house. Ponder the good things of God today. Take a piece of paper and write the letters A-Z down the left hand margin. Throughout the day, as the good things of God come to your mind, write them down on the page. You will then have a list to carry with you so that you can recall God’s glorious, gracious generosity. Pull it out to help you look past your present problems. Use it to hide in His presence and constantly fill up on the good things of His holy house.

In Discipleship Journal (Page 20, July/August 2007) there is an interview with Gracia Burham. She and her husband, Martin, served with New Tribes Missions in the Philippines. In 2001, they were taken hostage by a militant Islamic organization. After 376 days in captivity, Martin was killed in a gunfight. Garcia was wounded but freed.

When asked what kept her going during her captivity she responded: “God’s Word. Once early in our captivity, Martin and I were discouraged. We had endured yet another gun battle, some of the group were wounded, and we were starving, stinky, and tired. Martin said, ‘Garcia, let’s remind ourselves of what is true.’ We began reciting Scripture to one another: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:13) “God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies.” (Ephesians 1:3)We didn’t feel loved and blessed, but we reminded each other that these things were true nonetheless.