How Do You Get Rid of God’s Blessing?

Are you tired of God’s blessing in your life? Or do you feel like you forfeited it or lost it? Does it seem like he doesn’t bless you any more? I know that no one would ever say they wanted to get rid of God’s blessing but it happens! Too often, we drift off course and loose the presence and peace of God! So, what do we do?

There is a verse in the Sermon on the Mount that got me thinking about the blessing of God and what we should expect.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Matthew 5:11 (ESV)

Let’s start by talking about persecution. I hear so much about American Christians being hateful, hypocritical, judgmental – the opposite of what we are to be! In fact, I have heard so much about this that I hesitate to call myself a Christian anymore, preferring to be called a follower of Jesus.

But Jesus said that it is only persecution when these accusations are false! I am sad that many of these criticisms leveled at Christians are true. I see people who call themselves Christians saying and doing things that are very unlike Christ. And when we behave that way, we forfeit any blessing that we might receive from God.

The beatitudes outline blessings for those who conform to the life that Jesus has called us to. He saved the best blessing for last – a blessing for the persecuted. Following Jesus closely and becoming more like Jesus every day will bring false accusations and persecutions but when that happens, we are truly blessed by God!

A Response

Every Christian needs to take a look at their lives, prayerfully read those beatitudes and allow the Holy Spirit to convict them of sin, when necessary! It is past time for us to live like Jesus. We have given God and Jesus a bad name in this culture. We need to be ashamed and repentant!

Furthermore, every follower of Jesus needs to move closer to him so his light can shine ever brighter through their lives. We need to focus on eliminating bad behavior and encouraging Christ-like behavior. If we do not do this, we will eventually get rid of God’s blessing – something no one wants to do.

Your turn

This short post is a plea for us to abandon judgmental attitudes, to ensure we live with integrity and that we love everyone – even those we disagree with. We are called to embrace the broken and hurt people of this world not to shun them. Jesus was criticized because he welcomed sinners – prostitutes, tax collectors and others! It is sad when we are criticized when we denounce sinners but it is entirely appropriate for others to criticize us when we do it.

There is enough disdain for those who call themselves Christians. It is time we stop giving the world a reason to despise us. So, we must love – ask God to help you love the most unlovable. We must be genuine – ask God to help you be consistent in thought, word and deed. We must be accepting – ask God to help you be unconditional in your relationships with people of the world.