Deuteronomy 8:17–20 — You may say to yourself, "My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me," but remember that the LORD your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant He swore to your fathers, as it is today. If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will perish. Like the nations the LORD is about to destroy before you, you will perish if you do not obey the LORD your God. (HCSB)

The classic movie Shenandoah with Jimmy Stewart is about a farmer and his family during the Civil War. In one scene, the father and all his sons are sitting at the dinner table when the father prays:  "Lord, we planted this seed, we watered the plants, we picked the food and we cooked it. We did it all ourselves; we worked dog bone hard for this, but, we thank You just the same. Amen." I dare say that farmer's understanding of Yahweh Yireh's blessings was just a little distorted!

It is God Who has made us, not we ourselves (Ps. 100:3). It is He Who has blessed us. It is from the goodness of His heart that we have received every good thing. We didn't get what we have on our own. What we have did not become so because of our intelligence. There are a lot of smart people who live under bridges.

If we obtained wealth through inheritance, who gave us that family? If wealth came through talents and abilities, who granted them to us? Even if it came through back-breaking work, who gave us the strength and opportunity? Everything we have and are comes to us from God in whom we live and move and exist (see Acts 17:28). Every heartbeat and breath we draw is a direct gift from Heaven.

We need to not only count our blessings, but also remind ourselves of their origin (see Ps. 103:1–5). We must acknowledge that He forgives our sins and heals us of our diseases. He ransoms us from death and surrounds us with love and tender mercies. Adonai is no stingy King. He gives liberally to His people everything they need (see 2 Pet. 1:3).

Adonai warned us to not forget His loving care for us because He knows that the moment we take credit for our blessing, we will consider it ours to do with as we please. When we forget where it came from, we forget how to use it properly!

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning" (James 1:5, 17 HCSB). Godly generosity is based in thankfulness and gratitude to the Lord for His provision, viewing the Lord as our source!

 

 

(Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.)