God's blessings have been amazing me lately, and not the grand answers to prayer but the gentle voice I hear day after day guiding me, encouraging me, and reminding me that He is there. I always pray for things, I pray for relief from burdens and hardships, I pray for God to take away what hurts and what is difficult; but I am starting to realize that the true blessings are not in things, they are not in grand gestures. The true blessing is in feeling God's presence, it is in feeling the warmth of His love, the power of His embrace. The true blessing is in singing a song of praise and being moved to tears because you are overwhelmed with His strength, you feel His presence in your soul. The true blessing is in feeling burdened by obstacles and fear and hearing God say to you, my strength is sufficient for you. The true blessing is being in a new place and praying for comfort and hearing God say, I want to be your friend. I am amazed by all that God has been doing in my life, stirring in my soul, but I am most amazed that He has made himself known to me on an almost daily basis. I crave His presence, I crave His voice, I crave His visions for me, I crave to be in His loving arms, in His will--because no matter what may come against me, whatever may threaten me--my confidence comes from a strength not my own and I know that I can overcome.
There has been a specific burden I have been praying about for almost a year and a half. It has at times felt like it threatened my future, my life, my hope. I was in Church and trying desperately to find perspective, to be obedient and lay this fear at the feet of God, but sometimes when things are so close to your heart it is hard to find the strength to move them on your own. I had this crystal clear vision, that I can not doubt was God--There I stood, weary, and burdened by this hardship I continually choose to carry but then I saw God stand behind me with His hands just above my shoulders and the burden was there in His hands. He lifted it off of me and held it for me. Sometimes we can be obedient and lay our cares and concerns at His feet but then other times He meets us where we are and lifts our burdens for us and says, My power is sufficient for you. I am amazed that God meets us right where we are, even when we are weak and untrusting--He comes to our rescue.
My prayer is that I will always view the Blessings of God in the relationship I have with Him. I pray that I never take for granted His presence in the everyday moments of life, that I will always crave His voice in the quiet moments, and that no matter the outcome to my prayers, I will always remember that He holds all things in the power of His hands.
The Blessings of God are all around us.
