This past week I posted on X (Twitter) a quote that I had heard on a podcast from Rick Warren. He said, “We get to choose if God will bless us and our lives or not.” Although I am in alignment with that statement, it also occurred to me that to many, that statement may sound presumptuous and dictatorially unrespectful toward Gods sovereign plan for our lives. Others my readily discount this phrase as one leading into another prosperity gospel message. But none of these first impressions point to the truth of this statement.
Sadly, there are many people who picture God as one who rules with a big ugly stick, just waiting for us to mess up from following His rules. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those who have this impression of Him have clearly not read the Bible or experienced His love. The Bible is very clear that God seeks intimacy with every person and desires that all will open their hearts to His love (see 1 Timothy 2:4, Jer 29:13, Acts 17:27). As well, His desire as a loving Father is to bless his children (see Gen 1:28, 12:2, Deut 28, Jer 29:11, Matt 6:33, Romans 8:28, Phil 4:19, 2 Cor 9:8). Rick Warren’s statement is 100% accurate. We do get to choose. We choose to either follow Jesus or not. The blessings of God are reciprocal. Keeping in mind that we do not control “how” God blesses us—but we choose trust in Him and His faithfulness in every area of our lives.
The blessings of God are immeasurable. And although God does bless in material ways, the spiritual blessings are even greater. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
Years ago, I received a series of visions/dreams from the Lord. These were bonified encounters from the Lord which led to my writing and publishing The River. Chapter 6 of that book is called The Lake of Blessing in which I explain a vision from God of an actual lake that was filled with Gods blessings (also made known to me as His liquid love). This may seem a little abstract, but God often uses illustrations to help us understand. I have included a small portion of chapter 6 below.
I included that portion of The River in order to help you understand the magnitude of Gods desire to bless you and to pour his love into you and into your life.
And once again, I will repeat Rick warren’s quote, “we get to choose if God will bless us and our lives or not.” The choice is ours, and when we put our trust in God, He will illuminate the boulders that have been holding back the flow of God’s blessing upon our lives. Let’s say, for example, that you have unforgiveness toward someone. That unforgiveness is a huge boulder (and there may be others). God didn’t put it there, so it’s your choice to forgive or not. If you do truly forgive that person or the offense, the boulder is removed, and Gods River of blessing begins to flow.
I recently had a conversation with someone who had been going through a rough time in life. There was a series of recent events ranging from family sickness and death to car problems. I responded that I would be praying for him. His reply was, “Thanks, but it won’t matter because God is mad at me.” He continued, “I’m sure there is a verse in the Bible that says, God will punisheth us, or something…it’s just my lot in life.” We continued our conversation a bit, and of course I tried to correct his thinking. But the thought later occurred to me, how many people see God in this way…as a punitive god rather than a loving Father?
According to Pew Research, 40% of Americans view God as one who punishes people. How does this happen? I believe one way is from previous generations who had unbalanced religious teaching that has bled over into our society today. This has resulted in the fallacy of salvation based upon works (aka Performance Theology). As well, others have latched into an Eastern believe in “karma”. Again, the results based upon being blessed or punished according to works. Fingers crossed…that the balance weighs heavier in one’s favor.
The Bible says that God, has chosen to be known as Love (see 1 John 4:8, 4:16, Ro 8:38-39). He has also chosen to be known as Father (see Jn 20:17, Matt 6:9 &25-34, Luke 15:11-32). Is it any wonder that satan fights tooth and nail against peoples understanding God as a loving Father? Wouldn’t it make sense that satan would say “God does not love you, He wants to punish you.”
There are some folks that seem to think that any time we emphasis Gods love and grace, that we should somehow always balance the conversation out with Gods wrath and judgement. Again, I believe these are remnants of unbalanced teaching. God’s love is a reflection of His character. God does not have a two-sided face—one side showing love, while the other shows anger. His love is unconditional.
Yes, God hates sin and sin has its consequences. But thank God for His grace that allows us to overcome sin and its consequences as we grow from Gods love. Romans 2:4 says, “It is His love and kindness that leads us to repentance.” We must all seek to better understand and seek God as loving Father and thank Him continually for offering us grace. This grace is priceless and has never allowed us freedom to continue a sinful lifestyle. Jesus did not go to the cross merely so we could continue to live sinful lives. Truly, we are all a work in progress but should be seeking to be more and more like Jesus every day.
We must also recognize that with Gods love, He may allow trials in life as opportunities for our growth. However, His love, and presence remain for us even during difficult times. God looks at the heart, and He knows those that have truly turned their hearts over to Him. God is not punishing us. If we truly love Him, we can be confident that His blessings will continue as Gods Word guides us, and His Holy Spirit empower us.
If you are far from God because you either feel God is angry with you or you feel you must somehow be a better person before He will accept you, please don’t listen to the lie of the enemy any longer. God loves you—right now—enough to allow His son Jesus to die as a sacrifice for you. He does not want to punish you. No, this loving God wants to have a meaningful relationship with you. Trying to do life without God is futile. Starting a life with Christ today is as simple as humbly admitting your sinful pride and asking Him to take the wheel. 100% best decision you will ever make!
Blesses by the Best,
Mark
See You in the River 