And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. (Deut 28:2)
Not all blessings come to us in the form of joy or happiness. Most often, our greatest blessings come from disappointments, heartbreak and pain. There's been a lot of talk about the earthquake that rocked Japan recently. Where was God? Why did he do this? Why are these people being punished? The same phrases were uttered almost ten years ago when several planes slammed into buildings killing thousands of people and again just last year when the tsunami hit Haiti.
Our God is a loving God, but he is a stern and might God as well. "But what good can come out of these horrific events?" The blessings received from these "catastrophes" are as individual as the people affected by them. They also do not come immediately (some do, most don't). An ugly comment was posted to a link I shared of a Casting Crown's video of "If We Ever Needed You" inferring that "no sinners" were killed in the collapse of the Trade Center and that my faith and continued belief that God has a plan was "equine defecation". I beg to differ with the author of that comment - ALL those killed on that day were sinners!
Blessings come to us in many ways. They come for only one reason. Blessings come because God bestows them upon us. If it doesn't come from God, it is not a blessing. There are many people who (myself included) will tell you the most tragic events of their lives brought the greatest blessings. Over and over again our heavenly Father shows us his mercy. Some people are just too stubborn to accept it as such and become angry with God and turn away from him. I did. I came to a point where I thought "what kind of God would take a good man from his family and totally destroy another." I hated God, what he had done and what his "disaster" had caused. Then I walked away and began to indulge in things I should not have (making matters worse).
In all of that, I realized that God did not create that particular disaster, but he blessed me just the same. I would not trade the faith I have today for anything - and in order to reach this point in my life, I had to go through those events. Unlike some, I had to be brought to my knees and have everything I ever cared about taken from me. I had to rely on God completely! I had to allow him to change me and my faith in him had to grow. Without that single event, I would not have come to know him the way that I do today.
Take heart and know that there are blessings to be had through tears! Know that God is not "punishing" the people of Japan for bombing Pearl Harbor, it's not a "gay" thing and it's certainly not a "hate crime". He is offering them (and us) a wake-up call. Someday soon his mighty hand will reach down from the heavens and create hell on earth! Turning to him now would be a wise decision! Take that step, make that decision now! Offer him your devotion and praise - worship him and serve him! He is calling YOUR name! Will you answer the call???
