“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

The other day, I heard a man say, “God doesn’t give with both hands. It’s never something for nothing.” That simple phrase he used showed an attitude that is all too common, especially in today’s world. There are comments like, “Nothing is truly free today, not even God’s mercy” and “Work hard and maybe you will get something good from God in return.” My friends, there is nothing that could be further from the truth.

The Bible says that God had you in mind before the creation of the world. We are His children. He knows our positives and our negatives, but He loves us and blesses us anyway. In His infinite knowledge, He knew what you would need before you ever needed it and set those circumstances in motion long ago. They aren’t dependent on anything you do, it’s all because God loves you. I’ve heard people tell stories about times in their lives that were “too coincidental” or “a lucky break.” The other day I read a story about a baby who fell from a third story apartment balcony only to land on a mattress that some moving people where loading into a truck. You can call it luck, fate, karma, or any number of things, but in reality, it is God and His desire to abundantly bless His children.

The book of Judges says that Samson fought and killed a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey. It wasn’t something that he carried around with him just in case he needed to kill some bad guys. It was there because God provides what we need. That’s not saying that you will get all that you ever want, but you will get all that you need to accomplish His will for your life. It was no coincidence that the dead donkey was there for Samson, it was God’s providence. Samson was anointed with strengths and abilities that, when coupled with something as average as a donkey’s jawbone, became an unstoppable force. That is God blessing with both hands. God takes His ‘super’ in one hand and our ‘natural’ in the other to make something super-natural.

In the book of John, Jesus and His disciples were walking along the road when they saw a blind man. The disciples asked Jesus why a man had been born blind. They asked if it was because of either the man’s sins or the sins of the man’s parents. Jesus said that the man was born blind so that the glory of God could be shown through him. Blindness was not the ideal situation by far, but without bad circumstances, there would be no need for miracles. Jesus spat on the ground to make some muddy clay, then He wiped the clay onto the blind man’s eyes and told him to go wash it off in the nearby pool of Siloam. When the man washed off the clay, immediately sight was given to him. It wasn’t the pool that gave him the sight and it wasn’t even the muddy clay, it was Jesus.

That brings me to another point. The blind man in that story was being blessed by Christ before he was obedient. Jesus made the clay and placed it on the man’s eyes, then He told the blind man to go wash it off in the pool. The blind man was not a good Christian before that day. In fact, he didn’t even know who Jesus was until that time. This demonstrates one of the main points of being a Christian, in that you are not saved by your works, but through faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross. He didn’t say that the man would be healed because he fasted and attended church three times a week. Jesus didn’t even say the man was sinless, He only said that the man wasn’t blind because of sin. The blind man was blessed first, but the blessings showed forth when the blind man was obedient to Jesus. Jesus paid attention to the man’s needs and created the miracle, then the man listened to Jesus and that is when he was given sight. In short, God was handing out great blessings, but it was up to the man whether or not he wanted to receive them.

God is not interested in what you can do for Him. He is more interested in what you will allow Him to do for you. God knows the plans and blessings He has for you, but it is up to you whether you receive them or not. This is not saying that God isn’t trying to bless us, but God loves us enough to allow us to make decisions for ourselves. A love that is forced is no love at all. We can choose a momentary sinful pleasure or we can choose a joy that will last for all of eternity. When we sin, we are building up a wall between God and ourselves. Sin by sin, brick by brick, we are separating ourselves from the love and abundant blessings that God has. But Jesus hung on a cross that is tall enough to see over those walls that we build. He’s there with both hands stretched forth, waiting for us to accept Him into our hearts and lives.

Jesus didn’t just pay for a few of our sins, He has paid all of our debts in full. He blessed us with both hands and He has the nail holes to prove it.

God’s blessings to you.

DH