“For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. “But this is what I commanded them, saying, `Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ “Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.
Jeremiah 7:22-24 (NAS)
A lot of focus in recent years has been given to numerous mega-church preachers like Rod Parsley, who have made a living by talking much about God’s blessings and anointing and little about our obedience or His judgment. Consider this Parsley quote from 1999: “Every year we receive testimony after testimony of glorious healings, deliverances and salvations as a result of these super-saturated scraps of cloth we receive from around the world. Don’t miss this opportunity to receive the tangible transfer of God’s anointing into your life.”
It’s no wonder that he and others get media attention, while masses of people flock to their services in hopes of receiving the supposed enumerable blessings they say God is ready to pour out. In truth, God has already blessed us innumerably, but unfortunately, some have misguided focus to God’s love and power, while seemingly ignoring His other attributions and commands. What of spiritual depravity, sin, repentance, forgiveness and obedience?
As the verse above in Jeremiah tells us, blessings on our lives are byproducts of obedience. While spiritual blessings are inherent through the Holy Spirit when a person receives salvation, physical blessings are less important. As one commentary said: “It is enough that He assures us that we need not worry about what we will eat or wear. It is enough that He assures us that we need not worry about what we will eat or wear (Matthew 6:25-32, Philippians 4:19).”
As humans, we are naturally oriented toward material things, but as Christians, our perspective must change. Paul admonishes, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died [in baptism], and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:2-3). To us, life—and our perception of abundant life—is a whole new ballgame!
Richard T. Ritenbaugh, 2005
Nehemiah well understood the concept of blessings and obedience and continually reminded the people of God’s track record toward blessings and obedience regarding the Israelites. After finding out the wall of Jerusalem had been burned, he cried out to God:
O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive… (I) confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned… Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
application
Thus, far from the teachings some are offering in our day and time, the blessings we receive in our physical life are secondary to our call to emulate God’s character, obey His commands, and walk in radically different paths than the world around us. Today, think on Matthew 6:25-32 and remember that God graciously supplies us with all we need and has already blessed us in more ways than we can count, both physically, by his protection over our lives, and spiritually, by His gift of Christ.