“Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
One of the great truths of the twenty-third Psalm is found in David’s declaration: “…The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want.” (v.1) We find in another of David’s Psalms, Psalm thirty-four, a similar declaration: “But those whose seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” (v.10) Then when we go to the New Testament, and we read the Apostle Paul’s writings, we discover that he takes us further than David in this matter, certainly because of the greater revelation of God in Christ. Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers, that every believer has been blessed “…with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (1:3) With regard to any and all other “blessings,” the Apostle writes to the Philippian believers, “…and my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (4:19) How is it in this world where the glory of God fills His creation, and where the sins of men are so numerous, causing the suffering of so many, can there possibly be the realization of knowing the provision of God? How can a single soul receive such blessing from God, and this in every way for every circumstance, so that he may have to give Life and blessing to others? What is the key, or keys, to receiving the abundant, abounding grace of God, in order to have to give to those in need, and thus fulfill the law of Christ, which is the love of God?
We must begin by grasping something of the heart of God with regard to what He desires to do in and through the believing soul, so that the soul can receive “good things,” even the Holy Spirit. The creation of man is the starting point, for it is there that God reveals His perfect will for man. Afterwards, in spite of the fall of man, God provided the perfect solution and answer to man’s sin, sinful nature, and the need of the imperative victory over Satan. Before the fall of man by sinning against God, Adam and Ever were perfect receivers of the unlimited goodness of God. They lived and breathed without restraint or obstruction, the clean air of God’s presence, goodness, and holiness. When the fall of man came, and the spirit of man, like a window opened towards heaven to receive the eternal warmth of Divine Light, was closed. Spiritually speaking man died, losing the capacity to receive the Life of God. Though still blessed by God, the sinful man that Adam had become, along with all of his descendants, would be the prisoner of sin and death, and alienation, or separation, from God. And there he would remain, along with all of his “helpless and hopeless race,” except for the grace, and love of God. God would in His mercy and grace intervene in that situation with His perfect solution, by virtue of a perfect sacrifice, that of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only would Christ, by the shedding of His precious blood deal perfectly and entirely with all the sins of men, but would deal with the life-less sinner, giving him the power to respond to the call of God to live, and be born of the Spirit. The window of the heart of man, that capacity to receive the revelation of God, the very life of Christ by the Spirit, was opened again. The believer would be then sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit for time and eternity.
But what of receiving the blessings while we walk this earth? Essential to receiving is having a true vision of the heart of God, who “…did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all.” (Rom. 8:32) God GAVE everything in Christ to save every soul. How would He not WITH HIM also freely give us all things? (v. 32) The issue is not God giving, but the believer receiving BY FAITH the blessed gift.
Dear Father, Make us good receivers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.