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Blessings

             He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: (Psalm 104:14)

 

            This goes along with the idea discussed yesterday. We look for blessings that are out of the ordinary and given uniquely to us. How can it be a blessing if our neighbor gets it, too? Or (worse yet) the “sinner” down the road? Yes, we acknowledge that there is common grace and that could describe what God grants in today’s verse, but what is grace other than an undeserved blessing? What is a blessing, other than unearned blessing?

            This is not a suggestion that God never gives unique blessings and never withholds blessings from people. Instead, it’s the bold statement that most blessings are what might be considered mundane and commonplace. Most blessings are common. The lack of the spectacular and the drama does not mean a lack of blessing or favor.

            In fact, today’s verse brings to mind ways that we curse ourselves by rejecting or being ignorant of our blessings. When COVID hit back in 2020 and I found myself thinking “I’m not prepared for emergencies” again. I knew I couldn’t buy the stuff one needs to weather emergencies. “But,” my mind told me, “you can learn. And you know there’s stuff out in your front yard that  you could eat.” So I started learning. I have a lot more to learn and one of the things I have learned is that I don’t want to have to depend on what’s in my front yard, but the point is that we have blessings in our lives that we don’t recognize or that we may even reject.

                I think we’d all do well to ask God not to give us more blessings, but to open our eyes to the blessings He has already given us.

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