God's Answer for Lack...Blessing

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV

 Wow, what a thought, having all you need…in all things…at all times. If you are thinking this is only about financial sufficiency, you are limiting the scope of God’s ability to bless. To be sure, this verse in context is about the generosity of providing gifts (money, food, provisions) to those in need.  And, God is the one who supplies the abundance so that the giving generosity will never be lacking.  But there is more about blessing that is at the core of who God is.

 When Adam and Eve sinned, part of the curse that transpired was the introduction of lack of resources.  Adam and Eve would now have to work for their food by sweat and toil.  The land would resist production through representation of thorns, thistles and painful labor. Decisions would have to be made in managing the lack of resources to meet the need that always seemed to be greater than the supply.  So, does God have an answer?

 Blessing!  God wants mankind to know that abundance comes because of Him and not through man’s own efforts.  Adam tried to live life apart from God’s direction which resulted in the relational breakdown.  Jesus death and resurrection gave access for a restored relationship with God.  But blessing was God’s answer to allow Him to meet the demands of our lack.  For God sends rain to the just and the unjust.

 Is there anything we can do specifically to get in the flow of God’s blessing?  Yes, we BLESS.  In Numbers 6:22-26 ²² The Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

²⁴ “‘“The Lord bless you    and keep you;
²⁵ the Lord make his face shine on you    and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the Lord turn his face toward you    and give you peace.”’

²⁷ “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

 Aaron was instructed to speak blessings over Israel.  This was God’s instruction to Moses to reverse the lack that they could be experiencing.  When Aaron spoke the blessing…God put his name on them and would bless them.  They should see the direct correlation of asking God to care for them and the resulting provision that He would provide.  When “the blessing” is not spoken, then in some way God was not free to bless them.  Yes, God can do whatever He wants, when He wants.  But the freeway of choice for God to bless us, is for us to ASK God to bless.  He then is free to pour forth the abundance that He desires for us to experience.  When we don’t ask or even worse, when we curse, then we limit God’s interaction to meet our need.

 Let me illustrate how this may look in your life.  Perhaps you have a son or daughter who is struggling with doing good in their school work.  You have been watching for some time and notice that they don’t do their homework and seem to be more withdrawn from desiring to excel.  You have been harping on them to change their behaviors if they want to succeed.  Eventually, out of the anger of a moment, you say things that you may regret, “the reason you are doing poorly at school is because you are lazy.  You are not going to amount to anything if you don’t start applying yourself.  I’m not sure if you even have the skills to be successful.”  Your words have now started a cycle that withholds God’s desire to bless.

 Conversely our words can begin to counteract the outcome. In the same scenario, suppose your child heard you say to them on a regular basis.  “May God give you the ability to enjoy school and your classes.  May He help you understand the difficult subjects that are hard to grasp.  May God help you know that He is with you all day long and wants only good for you.  God desires to bless everything good that you put your hands on.”  We have moved so far away from speaking blessing, that this last phrase sounds contrived and coercive.  Yet, this type of speaking connects the outcome to God’s working in their life, and places the child as a person that God focuses on blessing.

 We must learn again how to recapture the wonder of speaking blessing over all those we know.  Jesus even says that we are to BLESS our enemies.  For to understand God’s heart…everyone, even our enemies, is worthy for God to bless.  The power of life and death are in our tongues.  Learn to love the taste of life giving blessings that can fall freely from your lips to those around you.  Is there anything more productive for the use of our tongues?

 One last thought…speak the word of God over your life and experience.  God’s word is always true, even if the present issues in your life don’t agree with that word.  Speak God’s promises aloud and let Him allow those issues to rise to His truth. 

 This brings us back to our starting verse.  God desires for us to have abundant provision so that we can be generous in our giving.  But perhaps your life situation shows that you don’t have enough to meet your own needs, much less be able to give to others.  Every direction you turn in your life seems to be revealing lack, instead of abundance. 

So, what next?  Speak God’s word over your life and family as if the promise is true.  Don’t just wish it or hope it…read the verse aloud over your life and see how God will connect His blessing with the provision that He will provide. There are many promises of God in the scripture that reveal His heart, His character, His ways and His love for the world.  Memorize these promises and speak them aloud and watch how God provides in the area of our lack.  We were created to be objects of His blessing for the Bible says that in even when we were sinners God chose us as the objects of His affectionate love.

Let’s be known as a people that speak blessing.  Blessings that flow from God’s rich abundance to a people that He loves.