GOD'S BLESSINGS

"And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre... And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things." (Genesis 23:19, 24:1, KJV)

"And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah... So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered… And God said to Jonah, 'Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?' And he said, 'I do well to be angry, even unto death.' " (Jonah 4:6‑9, KJV)

    These two men, Abraham and Jonah, both received blessings from God, but their responses to them were quite different.  We can learn a lot about receiving God's blessings from these men.

    After Sarah died, Abraham mourned and wept for her (Genesis 23:2).  He had clearly loved her.  Abraham could have cursed God for taking his wife, but immediately after he buries her, we instead read that the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

    God had given Abraham a son, a long life, some land, and a promise.  He had also been given a wife for many years.  Some people grow bitter after a loss and blame God.  Even though they are surrounded by numerous blessings, they despise God for one perceived affliction.  Whenever we are tempted to look at our losses, we must remember Abraham and look at our blessings.

    The apostle Peter said: "God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities" (Acts 3:26).  Abraham had also been promised the seed through which all the nations of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 22:1), and that seed is Christ (Galatians 3:16).  So turning each one of us from our iniquities is a blessing.  The ultimate blessing, which both Abraham and we have been promised and given, is Christ.  God views blessings very differently than the world does.

    We must never forget that all earthly blessings are temporary.  God blesses us in many ways: a long life, wealth, a large family, a nice house, friends, health, a spouse--but all of these pale in comparison to the ultimate, eternal blessing that is Christ Jesus.

    Jonah allowed himself to place the blessing of the gourd above the blessing of Christ, and once the blessing left, so did his joy in the Lord.  A faith that is strong in the Lord can endure the greatest losses--even a spouse.  But a faith that is self-centered cannot endure the smallest losses--even a gourd.

    In the midst of great loss, Job said: "The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).  And again: "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:15).  All blessings are from God, and we have done nothing to merit any of them.  We must always remember the Gift-Giver above the gifts.  We would all do well to have these words written on our heart.

    So when it pleases God to take away certain blessings, will you be like Abraham, who was still said to be blessed in all things, even though he had incurred sorrow and loss--or will you be like Jonah, who desired to be angry unto death for something small that he neither made nor did anything to deserve?

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