Responding to Blessing

Part 2:

Savoring the Blessing & Praising its Source

Another way we should respond to God’s blessings is by taking the time to appreciate their details, especially their source. That response is modeled in scripture and ratified by human experience.

Scripture provides at least three good examples. Consider the Israelites’ response to the parting of the Red Sea.  Exodus 14 describes the very tight spot they were in, and how God delivered them. Exodus 15  describes their response: they recalled the details of what God had done, looked forward to the possibilities it opened up, and heartily gave God the glory. We see the same pattern in 1 Samuel 1 and 2 . Hannah was going through very tough and humiliating times, sought God’s help, and He delivered her. She too responded by appreciating the details of what God had done and praising his very nature. Those things are also illustrated in the description of how John the Baptist came to be born. John’s parent went through very real hardship before his miraculous birth. Luke 1:2-25, 57-67. His father responded to that birth by detailing what God had done, looking forward to what those events could mean, and praising God’s faithfulness. Luke 1:67-79. There is a common pattern in those responses, and the fact that scripture records it multiple times suggest that God really wants us to notice it.

Our human experience confirms the appropriateness of those responses. Think about times you helped your child out of a jam or gave her a gift. What (beyond the very act of doing/giving those things) pleased you the most? It was likely your child’s savoring the details of what she received and acknowledgement that you were its source. My guess is that the same things bring the most pleasure to God. After all, He is our Heavenly Father.