God Just Wants To Bless Someone!

Yesterday morning, as I was enjoying my cup of coffee, I glanced out our window and saw an amazingly beautiful sky at sunrise. I gaze often at the magnificent handiwork of God that we see in the heavens just above us. I love those fluffy, snow-white, cumulus clouds that look like giant pillows that one could jump up and down on and then nestle down in for a good rest. But yesterday's view was more of the longer and more narrow sort, (I think we learned in 4th grade that these are cirrus clouds); nevertheless, they were set in a glorious blue, North Carolina blue sky with hues of pink and it was breath-taking!  I had to smile while soaking up God's masterpiece as I was reminded of a story that Amy told me as she was driving the children to school. 

On a particular day last week, Alicia made a comment about the beauty of a sky just like the one I just described (or tried to) to you. She was enthralled with the pink that God had added on this morning and was reasoning why that particular color was there. "Maybe, Mom," she said, " the sun is about to peek out from behind that cloud and that is causing the pink color. Maybe, Mom?" As they shared their ideas, Landon piped in his wisdom: "I think I know- I think that God just wants to bless someone!"  Now, he went on to explain why he thought the Heavenly Father was even including him in on that blessing but I am going to save that for another day. ( That should whet your appetite to tune in again.)  I have thought much for a week about that simple yet profound statement from the mouth of a five year old boy and this morning, while reading my Bible in Psalm 36, I felt I would like to share. Listen to verses 5-7 - "Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains: Thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, Thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings."  You might just want to read it again and slower this time.

I was captured by the word "lovingkindness", someone noting that it is used around 240 times in the O.T., many of those in these precious Psalms. The Hebrew word is chesed (kheh'sed), with these definitive terms, my Vine's Dictionary tells me- steadfast love, grace, mercy, faithfulness, goodness, and devotion. I am going to try to be very brief and even more simple than usual today and ask you, Believer, is that how you see God?

My beloved husband and I were discussing Landon's statement this week and our conversation included that many times when a child has had a too rigid, too hard to please earthly dad that he or she will grow up and see God that way. They are frustrated and guilt-ridden and many give up because they think there is a balance on God's desk and they repeatedly are coming up short of His standard and He is waiting and delighting to whack them with a big stick every time they do. Christian brothers and sisters, He knew we would fall short, who of us could ever think we could measure up to HIM, and our Savior Jesus Christ has already taken our much deserved punishment and condemnation and "nailed it to the cross and we bear it no more; praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"

Now, because that I try to be a balanced Bible student, God, because He is our Heavenly Father by faith in His Son, has every right and reason to discipline us if we stubbornly and persistently disobey what is good for us. Hebrews 12 is clear about that but even in that, it is because of His lovingkindness, His steadfast love, His grace, His mercy, His faithfulness, His goodness, and His devotion to us. We, parents, understand that, don't we? The toddler who prefers the busy street over the front yard must, for his own good, be dealt with.  David praised God for His lovingkindness when he said- "How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God!.."In Ps. 42, a Psalm written while distresses raged, (do we believe He is loving and kind even then?), the writer wrote "Yet the LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life."Ps. 48:9 -"We have thought of Thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of Thy temple." 63:3 "Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee."  Have you meditated on His lovingkindness to you and burst out in praise as David did because "God's covenant love is more valuable to him than life itself."? (John MacArthur)

I could give you verse after verse concerning His love and His kindness (cross-reference these- you will be blessed and built up), but I will close with two familiar ones in the N.T. Ephesian 2:7-"That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Titus 3:4-"But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour:"   He is an abundant God, a lavish God. He is good, gracious, kind, faithful and a covenant keeping God. It is Who He is and I think that my perceptive grandson was onto something and that being- we serve a God today Who just wants to bless someone!  Praise Him for that, Saints!

Looking Up, Deborah