abundantly blessed

Saturday, February 15, 2014 (6:00 a.m.)

Most Holy God,

Thank You. It was a rough night. Sleep was quite interrupted. Thoughts spun. Dreams were sparse. Mm, but You are not!

What is the opposite meaning of sparse? Abundant! You fill our lives with abundance.

The moon was full last night. Seen very low in the eastern sky. Full and beautiful. The first thing I saw this morning, framed perfectly through a west facing window, was the moon. Still full and beautiful. Father God You fill our lives with fullness and beauty.

Looking up the word abundant in The Message I read right passed the first entry several times before actually settling in on it. Father God, You absolutely never fail to amaze me. Thank You!

I chose to read again in Daniel (Chapter 4) of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream about a huge tree with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit. His refusal to heed Daniel's warning to turn from his sin and do right (v. 27). His seven years in the fields eating grass like the cows (33). And his looking up to heaven, praising and worshiping You after his sanity returned (34).

Then I turned to Daniel's time in the lion den (Chapter 6) and King Darius' proclamation of abundant peace (vs. 25-26) to his people as he decreed them to worship and fear You.

Father, thank You for reminding me of Your abundance. And it is here, after turning first this way then another, that I go back to look up Proverbs 11:25. The first verse I saw.

“The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.”

Blessed Father, I sit here awed [and again I joke, “odd!”]. You really do speak to us. The Living Bible links verse 24 with 25 and says, “It is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself.”

How I ask You Father to keep working in me to this end. The Life Recovery Bible adds this comment, “Some of us may wonder how we can be expected to give anything away... When we share our victories, even our failures, others will be strengthened for the battles ahead.”

You are doing this in me. I believe I'm working at it far more slowly than You would have me. Right here, right now I ask that You would get me with YOUR program! Adjust my thinking. Do in and with, by and for me all that I truly am unable to do on my own.

YOU are good. Mighty. Faithful. Powerful. Able. I am not. But I trust You and I ask You to “remove all these defects of character” that keep me from truly living - abundantly blessed.

Thank You Father. I love You so much. Use me this day as You wish. Thank You. Amen.

(491 words ~ 7:40 a.m.)