Blessed Beyond Measure... but what about me?

“Just signed on our FIRST HOME! Dream house, dream jobs, dream life! God continues to bless us beyond measure!”

I scrolled through my feed and saw this post with a picture of this sweet couple standing in front of their BIG beautiful new home. Let me emphasize BIG again. I of course am so incredibly happy for them, as I always am when I see friends and family enjoying success and wins in life. But I couldn’t help but think, do they even have kids yet? Why do they need such a huge home? And then the ugly head of envy creeps in, and I find myself frustrated and discouraged as I  sit here day in and day out trying to maintain a somewhat functional way of life in our 3 bedroom 1 bath home…with 8 people and a few extra here and there. I get annoyed when my kids get off their shower schedule because it throws everyone else off, yet meanwhile, this couple could take 4 showers today, one in each big beautiful bathroom.

Then I snap back out of that ugly place and remind myself how incredibly blessed I am. Similar statements  always seems to follow these posts, like  “God has blessed us!” or “God is so good!! He has given us everything we dreamed of!”, and I think, yes, He most certainly has and kudos to you for recognizing where your blessings come from.  But what about those of us that aren’t experiencing such obvious blessings? If this kind of post causes my heart to stumble and question, how many others are feeling the sting of those words?

I think of all of the figures throughout the Bible and am quickly reminded that though God does bless His people often, it generally comes after a LONG bought in the desert. Abraham and Sarah were given the promise of a son, and waited 25 years to see it fulfilled. Job had it all, but then had it all taken away for quite some time before God restored everything to him once again. Joseph spent at least a decade in slavery, then prison before he became the Prime Minister of Egypt. David was told he was going to be king, but then spent 15 years running from Saul who sought to take his life before he even claimed his throne. I could go on, but these are a few examples of mighty men of God who experienced long droughts in the “desert” before they saw the abundant earthly blessings of God.

Then you have characters like Moses, Paul, the disciples, and Jesus Himself, who never did see those earthly blessings. Moses spent years leading the Israelites, talking to God, eating a whole heck of a lot of manna, and surrendering to His will, only to miss out on the Promise Land. Paul gave up everything to follow Christ, which according to the world, was a lot. Then he died in prison. And well, we know Christ’s story.These men never saw the earthly "blessings", but were they any less blessed?

So where does that leave us? My friend sent me something the other day, and within a few days, I read the exact same thing again in a different devotional. God was obviously making a point.

The word for desert in Hebrew is “Midbar”, which also means “the place of the word” or “to speak”. All throughout Scripture, when does God speak to His people? At the high times, in their cushy palaces, at the peak of their prosperity? No. It’s in the desert. When they are broken and realize they are nothing without Him. When we aren’t taking our blessings for granted. When we are without options and we lean so hard into Him that the struggles seem to fade away and all we feel is the strength of his arms around us, the sweet smell of His presence as we press against His chest, and the incredible joy that literally pours over out of our hearts.

We were asked the other day at life group what our plans were for our futures when we were children.  It’s a joke now with my group because I confessed that I don’t plan… anything. Looking back to my childhood and all the way through adolescence, the only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to be a mom. I think in the back of my mind, I always assumed I’d finish college, meet my future husband, have a big beautiful wedding, buy a house, work for a while and enjoy life as a couple, then start a family. You know, the typical “American Dream”. I never really thought on it much or vocalized it, but I think I just assumed that’s how it would be. However, planning went out the window when I got pregnant at 20, got married a month later in a courthouse, spent 13 years finishing my bachelors and had 5 more little “oopsies” along the way. (well, 4 more, Mattox was the only one we actually planned ;) ).  Or the fact that I got my dream job after 13 years of school, only to have to give it up 4 months later, and now I clean toilets. (I’m just messin, I love what I do, even if it involves cleaning toilets ;) ) We were recently given the gift a trip to Disney, so we planned to go over spring break, but the engine on our “bus” blew and wiped out our entire tax return, thus resulting in a cancelled trip…among other things. I could go on for days about the many MANY times life didn’t go as “planned”, but you get the idea.

So what does all that mean? Am I one of the ones NOT being blessed beyond measure? And if so, then why?!

But I AM blessed. I absolutely, 100%, without a shadow of a doubt am so incredibly blessed. That pregnancy, brought my husband and I together forever and gave me one pretty amazing young lady. The court house wedding and broken emotions during our vows, allowed me to learn how to forgive with a forgiveness only God could produce. That 13 years of schooling taught me determination and perseverance like I had never known, and it also allowed me to experience an even greater sense of pride when it was all said and done. Those 6 beautiful oopsies, are the answer to the one plan I ever had growing up, the greatest desire of my heart. That canceled trip to Disney and financial hit #8,000,957, have taught us to TRUST. To rest in His promises and provision. To look at things from a different perspective. To appreciate. All of it caused spiritual growth that we would have not otherwise experienced, and allowed us to watch God come through in the most amazing ways. All in all, the greatest blessing in it all is sanctification and humility, because “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God”, right? (Luke 6:20)

 Your lack of “success” in the world’s eyes is a garden of opportunity in the Kingdom of God. He is pruning and planting, watering and growing.  And just look at this promise in Deuteronomy 8:6-10:

“So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.  When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.”

Blessings come in all shapes and sizes. Enjoy the ones you have in the desert, just as much as the ones you WILL receive when you reach the promised land.

“Don’t try and get out of the desert. Try to get as much out of the desert as you can.” – Dave Adamson