PREREQUISITE TO BLESSING

Deuteronomy 28:1 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.”

What if God showed up and he said, “I’ll make you a deal. If you obey me and follow my rules, I will bless every area of your life. Your family, your finances, and your future. You’ll never have to worry about these things anymore. I’ll watch over you and provide for you both now and forevermore.”

Would you see this as a good deal? Would you say, “Lord, sign me up. I want to be in on this. I don’t want to miss any of the blessings you have for your people?”

This offer is for real. It is available to everyone in the whole world. Our scripture helps us to discover for ourselves the blessings and benefits of obeying God.

In Deuteronomy, Moses is 120 years old. He’s about to die. But before he dies, God wants him to make a treaty between him and the people of Israel. That’s what the book of Deuteronomy is. It’s a peace treaty between God and Israel. In the first three chapters, Moses reviews the history leading up to the treaty. In chapters 4 through 27, he lays down the rules of the treaty. And in our scripture reading from chapter 28, he discusses the blessings that come from accepting the treaty.

Verse one says “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.” In other words, ‘if you fully obey the Lord, you will go from being the most hated nation to being the most hailed nation. If you obey the word of the Lord, you will experience the blessing of the Lord.

This seems so simple and easy. Yet for many (me included) obedience is sometimes a struggle. You see, the guidance of God is readily available to us. We find it in his word. It is available through his spirit. The problem is that sometimes his guidance is in direct conflict to our ideas and our will. As we survey circumstances in life, we will formulate our game plan and then look to God for his blessing. No question that we would like for God to bless our endeavors. We want his favor. We want success. The great thing is that God wants to give us those things. He does not, however, want us to have those things more than he wants our dedication and our obedience to his word.

The question for each of us is not whether we want blessings in our lives. The question is how much do we want those blessings and how much do we trust the promises of God. If I trust him completely than I must believe that he will keep his words. So, even when my plans and my ideas seem so smart, I will check them with his will and his word.

Be encouraged to today to find your greatest blessings in full obedience and careful following of God’s direction for your life. Don’t get sidetracked by what seems best to you. Follow God’s direction and blessings will follow.