May 5                                            1 Pet 3 - 5

UNWARRANTED BLESSINGS

MEMORISE: 'And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments Which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God Will set thee on high above all nations of the earth…' (Deut 28:1)
READ: Genesis 27:1-4

A blessing is an invitation for supernatural powers to come and assist, support or promote the one you love. Many people take blessings for granted. Blessings do not just come. They are deserved. In our reading, God tells us the principle behind blessings. Isaac had a blessing capable of affecting and influencing the destiny of his son, Esau. Before he could impart that blessing, he asked Esau to do what would please him. It is still the same way a blessing operates today. 'And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth…' (Deut 28: 1).

Deuteronomy 28:1-13 is one passage Christians love to read and confess over themselves. However, less than 20% take pains to do what will provoke the blessings upon them. Not many will obey all God's commandments to please God. Claiming all the blessings every day without meeting the conditions for them amounts to unwarranted blessing. This will remain wishful thinking that may never manifest.

God instructs us to bring all, not some of our tithes into his storehouse and make him happy, so that he can give us open heavens and pour on us the blessings we cannot contain (Mal 3:10). If you are a diligent student of Scripture, you will find that God is always asking us to do something to bring his blessings upon us.

Before peter could be given a great catch of fish in Luke 5:1-11, God asked him for his boat. In 1 Kings 17:8-16, before God could turn the widow of Zarephath's lack into abundance, he asked for her last meal. The woman in 2 Kings 4:8-17 saw Elisha and invited him to her house to eat whenever he passed by. She provided him with accommodation and that broke her barrenness and she conceived her child. The liberal soul shall be made fat (Prov 11:25). Have you backed up your desire for a miracle with works capable of provoking such a miracle? If not, that blessing you want is unwarranted!

ACTION POINT
Do not only keep praying and fasting for God's exponential blessings.
Make sure that you have satisfied God's requirements for those blessings.