Blessings & Shining ...Week 2

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us.  -Psalm 67:1

Here we are already at the second week of our Lenten experience, and many of us have been challenged every step of the way.  Perhaps, the fasting has not gone as smoothly as you have hoped or LIFE HAPPENED!  You know? Work stuff. Family stuff. Church stuff. Body stuff.  I know you don't want to hear it, but I must say it anyway: GOOD!  It's LENT!  The entire premise of this season is for you and I to grow closer to God.  In order to grow closer to God, we must experience circumstances that challenge the relationship.  It is in the survival of those circumstances that we have the realization of harvest & manifestation.  Remember from week one:

You cannot bless yourself better than God blesses you!  So, wait!  Trust God.  Over these next 40 days, let us consecrate ourselves with expectation of a great harvest...a great manifestation!

Psalm 67 will guide us throughout this Lenten journey.  So, let's take it from the top:  May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us.

This is the driving force for week two.  It's a request of God for US!  Remember, this Lenten journey is indeed about your relationship with God... your closeness with God... your spiritual growth.  However, WE are in this thing together!  Therefore, as we seek harvest and manifestation, we begin by acknowledging that we don't deserve it. Whew!  That's a relief!!! If God providing a harvest and manifestation was dependent upon what you and I get right and deserve, then this Lenten season may stop shy of Easter joy!  However, it is depending completely on God being gracious.  As God is gracious, the Psalmist requests two things:  blessings and shining!

I challenge us to focus on the blessings of God and the way God makes his face shine on us instead of looking for human approval and presence.  God's blessings will outlast the applauds and the putdowns.  God's blessings will outlast the fear and the courage.  God's blessings will outlast the very thing that has you weighed down in this Lenten season-whether a tough decision or a lifelong desire.  God will be gracious to us!  God will bless us!  God will make his face shine on us!

So, go ahead and expect it on your way to harvest and manifestation: blessings and shining!  Let God brag on God through his blessings in your life.

CHALLENGE QUESTIONS:

What harvest am I expecting from God?
Why am I afraid to wait?
Why am I afraid of God's blessings?
What is keeping me from receiving, fully, his grace?

 
CONSECRATION PRAYER:

Most Holy God, we thank you for the opportunity to walk with Jesus before the cross.  This week, help us to trust the promise that you are gracious.  Because You are gracious, help us to be more aware of your blessings and the way you make your face shine on us.  God, we know that we are not worthy, but we ask that you cast out the fears of receiving your blessings so that we can receive fully your grace in our lives.  In Jesus' name, Amen.