The Glory of God in Heaven.Sýnishorn

Remember how God has doubly blessed you.

By Rev. Joel Gaertner

If you were to ask most people what their blessings are, they would begin to list things like their families, jobs, homes, and other physical things. Those are indeed blessings that God has given to us. But if you look at the verse above, you will see that Paul reminds us that God’s blessings to us are both physical (food, seed, etc.) and spiritual (righteousness).

Three words in this verse are crucial for us to focus on: “he who supplies.” These words remind us that before we can talk about or focus on the blessings we receive, we first need to remember and thank the source of those blessings – God.

Have you ever noticed that so often our focus tends to be on the blessings themselves and we quickly forget about the provider and source of those blessings? We might be tempted to think that we have these “things” because we worked hard and could buy them or worked hard to get them. Paul reminds us, though, that God supplies anything and everything we have. God gives us the energy, the ability, and everything else we need to do the work to gain the “things” we have. This reminds us that when we look at our blessings, realize how richly we have been blessed, and are led to give thanks, the first thing we need to do is to humbly acknowledge the supplier of everything we have.

The verse above also reminds us that God has supplied and blessed us doubly. Yes, he has graciously given us physical “things.” This is often a thought process reserved for late November as our nation celebrates Thanksgiving. But if you think about it, we should be expressing our thanks for the physical things every day as we receive and enjoy them. Think about what we pray each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

We are far too easily tempted to focus on these temporary, physical blessings and forget the most important blessings – the spiritual ones that guarantee each of us an eternal, perfect home in heaven. Did you notice how, as God led Paul to write the words above, he lays out that as we look to God, he will richly bless us both physically and spiritually.

Do you ask God to increase your faith in the same measure as you ask him to strengthen you physically or financially?

Appreciate your physical blessings, focus on your spiritual blessings, and that will help you to remember how doubly blessed you are!

Prayer: Gracious God, help me to gratefully realize the way you have blessed me. As I see the rich physical blessings that you give me in every area of my life, keep my eyes more focused on how you have given me faith in Jesus as my Savior, the forgiveness of all of my sins, and a place reserved for me in heaven. Lead me to recognize that all of this is a gracious gift from your loving hand. I ask this in Jesus’s name. Amen.