Perspective

Happy Father's Day! I just want to say to all of the fathers and grandfathers reading that we love you all!

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For the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

The blameless spend their days under the Lord's care,

and their inheritance will endure forever.

In times of disaster they will not wither;

in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

Psalm 37:17-19

This psalm talks about how God takes care of the righteous. He blesses us every day. He is always watching over us, even when we go through hard times. Take David for example. Many times, in the psalms, we see him crying out to God, asking why He allowed the enemy to get the upper hand over him. David was the one who was obeying and trusting God, not them! Yet they always seemed to be better off than he.

David did not understand; however, he wrote many other times that he trusted God. He wrote about all of the blessings God had bestowed upon him. He also wrote, like in the above excerpt, that the blameless would prosper and the wicked flounder.

Instead of counting our blessings, we count theirs!

We often look at the negative side of things. Instead of thinking about how good we have it, we think of how that other person is better off; instead of counting our blessings, we count theirs! We might see our Bibles as full of stories where Christians are looked down upon while their persecutors thrive. The Israelites! Job! Paul! For goodness sake, Jesus was persecuted! If the Bible says that God is going to take care of us, why are Christians treated in this way?

Now let's think of the positive side of things. God has poured blessings out on us, if only we would open our eyes to them! He has given us families, homes, food and water, clothes, education, etc. I have also recently realized that normal life is one of God's blessings! If you look at the Bible like this, you can pick out blessings in the lives of the characters. When the Israelites were hungry, God sent them manna. Before and after Job's trials, God blessed him with abundant children and livestock. Even in prison, God gave Paul peace and contentment. And when Jesus died, God brought Him back to life. God filled their and our lives with blessings.

You can see now that God has been good to all Christians. When we are His children, He protects us and heals us. He does say in 1 Peter 5:10 that we will suffer, and quite plainly in 1 John 3:13 that the world will hate us, but this is nothing if we look at it compared to heaven, forever, with God.

Which of God's blessings does the Bible talk about? Well, one of them is definitely protection. The Bible is full of verses reminding us of how God protects us Christians. For instance,

The way of the Lord is a refuge for the blameless,

but it is the ruin of those who do evil.

Proverbs 10:29

Another blessing from God for Christians is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our conscience, our comforter, and our guide. He helps us do what is right and stay away from wrong. When we become Christians, God gives us the Holy Spirit.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever –the Spirit of truth.

John 14:16-17a

God also gives us peace. I don't mean peace from war, but peace from worry. God can take away our fears and worries if we ask Him.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

The most wonderful blessing of all is the blessing of Jesus. Jesus loved us enough to die for our sins so that we would be saved. He took our punishment, even though He was perfect. By dying and rising again, Jesus saved us and gave us eternal life. All we have to do to get it is confess our sins and receive His forgiveness.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God

is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

God has filled our lives with so many good things. It's really impossible to count all of our blessings. Pray that God would help you to see how He has blessed you instead of seeing what you don't have. Then spend some time thinking about the blessings that God has given you – not only the obvious ones, but also those that are harder to recognize. And never forget the ultimate blessing: Jesus.

Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,

who walk according to the law of the Lord.

Blessed are those who keep His statutes

and seek Him with all their heart –

they do no wrong but follow His ways.

Psalm 119:1-3